It’s been a wild 12 months for Team Green
- by Ben Kerry Yesterday, 12pm
As we come to the end of 2024, we need to review what’s been a unusual year to be an Xbox fan. A few of the group’s current acquisitions have actually truly kicked into equipment– specifically Bethesda with Indiana Jones and Activision with Black Ops 6– however it’s tough to neglect the quantity of combined messaging and strange shenanigans we’ve all needed to handle. In the end, Microsoft has actually launched some great things this year, however we hope 2025 shows a more steady time for the brand name.
Before we get ahead of ourselves and begin believing about next year, let’s take a minute to value Xbox’s video game lineup in 2024. At this moment, it’s strange to believe that Microsoft kicked things off with Hellblade 2 all the method back in Mayhowever it did – and Ninja Theory provided a vibrant and technically outstanding follow up that ticked a great deal of the right boxes for what’s been missing out on from Xbox exclusives over the last few years.
Make no error, we didn’t believe Hellblade 2 was best in any sense, however Microsoft let the designer understand its vision to an extremely high requirement. Regardless of a fairly brief length, Hellblade 2 exudes AAA goodness, particularly in the visuals department. The group’s audio and efficiency work wasn’t half bad either; Hellblade 2 brought home 2 awards for Best Audio Design and Best Performance at The Game Awards previously this month.
Moving onto the fall 2024 lineup, things have actually truly increased a notch in current months for Xbox. Because late October, Microsoft has actually provided the triple risk of Black Ops 6, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is one heck of a method to liquidate the year. The group is covering a great deal of bases with these 3 titles, providing different experiences as these studios lastly begin to provide huge video game releases.
Black Ops 6 is considered the very best Call of Duty in years, Indiana Jones is resting on numerous folks’ GOTY lists, and while MSFS 2024 has had its problems, when the video game is working it’s still a bloody technical marvel. Include the similarity Stalker 2 on Xbox Game Pass, and you can’t grumble about the large range Microsoft has actually given the table in the latter half of 2024.
Recalling at the year in basic, then, it’s been an extremely variety for Microsoft and its Xbox groups. There’s been unpredictability around the brand name all year as it continues to manage this brand-new, multiplatform effort that’s been spun up, however the video games are lastly coming, and with all the studios Microsoft now owns, that will not be decreasing anytime quickly. It’s been an unstable however efficient year at Xbox HQ – we simply hope a few of that basic debate wanes in 2025.
