Did Xbox Series X Dig its Own Grave?

The last few weeks haven’t been too kind to Xbox. Multiple leaks have hinted at the existence of the Series S, Halo: Infinite is delayed and people are already siding with PlayStation. To add to the misery, Nvidia’s recent RTX 30 Series GPUs have now made life even more difficult for the console giant. Put together, all of these points could work against Microsoft’s plans.

The Xbox Series X is deemed to be the better console when compared to the PlayStation 5. It boasts better computing power and a much-advanced GPU than its rival. It has also wowed fans with many exclusive titles that will be released in the future. Simply put, everything was going great until the Game Pass came into the picture.

Also Read: Is the Xbox Series S Microsoft’s Worst Kept Secret?

The Game Pass gives Xbox users access to a plethora of different Xbox exclusives and other games. Surprisingly, Microsoft also announced that its Game Pass would be available to PC users as well. This meant that all the major exclusives coming to Xbox would soon be available for PC too. This was exactly where Nvidia’s latest announcement came into play.

Nvidia’s RTX 30 Series GPUs are a threat to Xbox Series X

The RTX 30 Series GPUs boast an ungodly computing prowess, at affordable prices. This was a shocking announcement considering the RTX 2080 Ti was priced at $1200. Now, with these affordable, ground-breaking GPUs, players can easily upgrade their systems. And with all the Xbox Games being available for PC, they won’t have to spend extra on buying the Series X to play them.

Take a look at this tweet from TweakTown editor Derek Strickland:

Is it possible that the Game Pass service might not actually work in favor of the Series X? Phil Spencer mentioned earlier that the Series X is “no longer that star of Xbox’s strategy”. But this doesn’t mean that console sales aren’t important. While the company may have moved on from the poor sales of its Xbox One (when compared to the PS4), it looks like they are setting themselves up for the same failure again.

The Series X may also be in trouble due to the lack of exclusive launch titles. A case in point would be The Halo: Infinite delay. While the title announcement being pushed to 2021 might have come as a bit of a shock, it wasn’t wholly unpredictable. The game was highly criticized for its graphics, to the point where the developers admitted that they had work to do. With that out of the picture, Xbox doesn’t have any other big-name launch title as a backup.

Microsoft may be in for the long run with the Series X. However, this doesn’t change the fact that their plans haven’t exactly worked in their favor. Phil Spencer and Co. need to roll up their sleeves and get to work if they are to turn things around for themselves.