There is no shortage of worry and dire feelings for the Xbox fan base. Microsoft has been competing in the gaming industry for several generations now, but it could be winding down in some fans’ eyes. We don’t know what the future holds for Xbox, but a recent headline from Gamestop caused more players to worry that the future is looking grim for the Xbox console.
Thanks to Insider Gaming, we discovered that Gamestop labeled the Xbox Game Pass subscription service as Microsoft Game Pass. It was striking the Xbox name out of the Game Pass title altogether. Of course, we’ve often found Xbox themselves referring to the service simply as Game Pass. But the new name had fans worried that this is the start of killing the Xbox name altogether and potentially the exodus from console competition. Of course, since this popped up, Gamestop had gone back and edited the headline on their website to state Xbox Game Pass once again.
There have been no statements on why it was labeled Microsoft Game Pass. This was a simple error for some, while others feel Gamestop got ahead of themselves and posted the new name for Game Pass. Whatever the case, we won’t have to wait very long before we get some clarification on what’s going on with the folks at Xbox. If you haven’t been keeping tabs on the headline news lately, it’s been a troublesome start for Xbox fans as we entered 2024.
First, we got the announcement of a mass layoff for the Xbox division. This layoff even sparked an FTC court note as they attempted to appeal the Activision Blizzard merger. Beyond that, there were several rumors circulating online that suggested Microsoft Xbox exclusives would soon be released on the PlayStation 5 platform. That caused a wildfire of rumors and speculation online, which forced the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, to confirm that they will be holding a business update event next week.
With this event, we should get a far better picture of the outlook for Xbox. Whether that’s confirmation that consoles are not going anywhere or if it’s looking like we might see Xbox turn more into a third-party company delivering video games or their Game Pass subscription service. For now, we can only wait for next week to arrive and see what Xbox has in the works.
