Xbox One’s Holiday Lineup is ‘Very Strong, if Not the Strongest,’ Says Microsoft

Speaking to GameSpot yesterday after Microsoft announced a Kinect-free Xbox One will launch in June, marketing boss Yusuf Mehdi said he believes that the console has a "very strong" lineup for Christmas, "if not the strongest."

He said the Xbox One would offer a better game lineup "for the second holiday" in a row compared to Sony's PlayStation 4 offerings.

Mehdi commented that Microsoft "really loved our competitive position with the first holiday, which I think most would say we had a stronger games lineup [than the competition]."

Commenting on E3 next month, he addd, "I'm really excited about E3, cautiously optimistic that we'll have the value proposition that is also a very strong, if not the strongest, games lineup for the second holiday."

Microsoft's E3 media briefing is set for June 9th, the same day the Kinect-less Xbox One launches. 

The next Halo, Quantum Break, and Sunset Overdrive are all Xbox One exclusive set for release this year while Forza Horizon 2 is also believed to be in development. 

Sony is expected to launch The Order: 1886 and DriveClub only on PS4 later this year but it's unclear what other exclusive titles they have in the works with a 2014 release window. 

Yesterday, Microsoft also announced that users will no longer need Xbox Live Gold in order to access apps like Netflix on Xbox 360 or Xbox One. The company revealed that the Games With Gold service will launch next month on Xbox One but users will need to keep a Gold subscription active in order to access games included in the program – a change from the system used on Xbox 360 where the games are yours to keep and play even if your subscription expires.