It's not a secret that the Xbox has had a difficult couple of years. The brand that once ruled the console shooter market with the Halo and Gears of War series has found it difficult to establish itself with first-party development as both franchises descended into mediocrity in their later releases, leaving it trailing behind its rivals Sony and Nintendo in terms of sales and cultural cachet.
Of course, Microsoft has a solid financial foundation on which to stand, so their response to date has been (attempting to be) as aggressive in acquiring prominent IP, publishers, and developers as they possibly can, starting with their $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its studio Bethesda Softworks in 2021.
Mega-franchises like Doom, Wolfenstein, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls all of a sudden became Xbox properties and eventually exclusives as a result. With the release of Arkane Austin's vampire shooter Redfall on Xbox Series X|S and Windows only, this was all meant to mark the beginning of a new age. It wasn't successful.
Since then, Microsoft has kept up its fight for industry supremacy with a prospective $68.7 billion deal, in which it would buy Activision Blizzard, the publisher of lesser-known games like Diablo and Call of Duty. But while that legal dispute is ongoing, Bethesda's first brand-new IP in over three decades holds the key to gamers' greatest and best hope for an Xbox revolution.
Regardless of political fanboy rhetoric, Starfield has always struggled because of the hoopla that has surrounded it since its announcement in 2018. The game, which was created by Bethesda Game Studios and directed by seasoned game director Todd Howard, was hailed as the space-bound successor to the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series. It had an immediate effect and was dubbed "Skyrim in space" by Howard.
Invoking the word Skyrim weighs since it is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful RPGs of all time. Its release in 2011 sparked a cultural tsunami of memes and influenced every game that has come after that, even those that merely hint at the concept of an "open world."
Fortunately, Starfield stays faithful to its roots. It's a massive role-playing show that is driven nearly entirely by player preference, which is problematic. Since this game is so massive, it's practically impossible to describe it without sounding stupid. The game is downright scary, boasting over a thousand worlds to explore that were created using a combination of stochastic creation and detailed design. Furthermore, it makes no effort to grip your hand.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
