No one is going to argue that the Xbox Series X is flush with brand-new exclusive games, but that could change as Microsoft exec has teased that Xbox Games Studios is working on a new IP “that’s gonna blow your mind.”
Those are the words of Xbox's head of gaming services Ben Decker, who told our sibling site GamesRadar that Microsoft's game development arm is working on a brand new title that appears not to be released to the heavy-hitting franchises of Halo or Gears.
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The interview comes off the back of Microsoft releasing statistics that show 55% of 14,000 consumers sign up to Xbox Game Pass to get new games.
“That’s why we made the investments that we have,” said Decker. “We have 23 studios across Xbox and Bethesda, working on Halo, Forza, Fallout, and new IP that we haven’t even talked about yet that’s gonna blow your mind. We can deliver all of that into Game Pass on day one,” explained Decker.
Currently, Game Pass members can access more than 100 games on the Xbox subscription service, including major titles for Bethesda and EA, as well as a mix of Xbox games dating back to the original Xbox. But The Medium is the only real new game that seems developed primarily for the new Xbox consoles that’s available on Game Pass.
There are a lot of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S optimized games on the service, but it’s arguably lacking serious next-gen titles. Going by Decker’s words that could all change, though he didn't shed any light on what the new IP could be.
Given Halo Infinite and Fable 4 are on the horizon, RPG Avowed could be a platform exclusive, and the Gears franchise is available on Game Pass, we’d hazard a guess that this new IP will be something reasonably removed from such games.
Perhaps Xbox Games Studios could be working on a brand-new massively multiplayer online games, as those are rather popular. Or it could have some seemingly niche or highly ambitious game that puts some of Microsoft's wider technology to use; how about AI that has machine learning backed up by the Azure cloud?
We hope to hear more at E3 2021, which will be a virtual event, but one that Microsoft will have a presence at. While the Xbox Series X didn’t launch with a cavalcade of exclusive games, it’s looking like the second-half of the year and 2022 could be the time when Redmond’s new console truly comes into its own. And hopefully by then, finding an Xbox Series X restock won’t be such a nightmare.
