When I think back on everything Xbox has accomplished in 2024, I'm surprised by how much I've forgotten. Immediately, just three new games come to mind: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Starfield: Shattered Space, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
While these are the highest profile Xbox games of 2024, coming from Microsoft-owned publishers and studios like Bethesda and Ninja Theory, it's far from the full roster when you count the third-party exclusives. Brilliant yet flawed Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl launched last month, followed by smaller releases like MMO-like brawler Towerborne and Lightyear Frontier. We also saw Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 become the first COD game launched under a Microsoft-acquired Activision. But Xbox's strong to middling successes of 2024 are unfortunately drowned out by the publisher's reputation.
It's true: Microsoft's mass layoffs and organizational ventures can make it hard to focus on the Xbox wins in a sea of unknown quantities. As the year rounds out with its biggest game release of the year, it feels like Microsoft has been holding its breath the entire time. It seemingly wants to prove why all these studio buyouts were not only necessary, but imperative to the sustained evolutionary success of each one. That's where we stand right now, with all hopes pinned on a certain whip-cracking archeologist – and the wait could well be worth it.
Sins of the father
Let's start at the end. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the pièce de résistance for Microsoft's gaming division as we head into 2025. The Bethesda-MachineGames team-up has the potential to become the strongest Xbox game of the year. It'll likely be the game that comes to mind whenever you think of Xbox's 2024 performance in the future. Or at least, that's likely to be Microsoft's intention.
In a year where recently-acquired studio shutdowns have led many to question Microsoft's integrity in purchasing them, Indy provides an opportunity to cleanse this bitter taste from our collective palate. To that end, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has two main goals from where I'm standing: first, to make bank (duh) and second, to show off how Bethesda is thriving under Microsoft.
It's been four years since Microsoft bought Bethesda parent company ZeniMax, marking one of the most expensive gaming studio acquisitions of all time. It's been on a mission to harness the Skyrim developer's prestige points ever since, following up 2023's intergalactic RPG Starfield with this year's tepidly received Shattered Space DLC. It was by no means a critical failure for Bethesda, but even as Microsoft strives to banish all doubts with a near guaranteed hit in the form of Indiana Jones, its desperate scramble to do so is worth acknowledging – especially when a lot of the company's recent actions seem antithetical to the cause.
Though not the only culprit, Microsoft axed thousands of jobs in 2024 amid a spate of industry-wide studio shutdowns and dismissals. In January, just months after purchasing Activision Blizzard and despite a perceived drive to demonstrate the growth opportunities afforded to its owned brands, head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced that Microsoft would be laying off 1,900 employees across ZeniMax, Xbox Games Studios, and the newly-acquired Call of Duty publisher. Just months later, Microsoft revealed that two ZeniMax studios would be shuttered completely – Redfall studio Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks – citing "reprioritization of titles and resources" as a driving factor. These cuts might not be personal, but they certainly haven't done much to instill goodwill with players and employees alike.
Apology tour
Indiana Jones has a hell of a lot riding on his strapping shoulders if Microsoft wants to make me forgive and forget.
But there are some bright spots amid the darkness. I cannot understate how important Ninja Theory has been in proving Xbox's chops this year as a key player to rival PlayStation.
I stand by what I wrote in my Hellblade 2 review; the game is a paragon of technical brilliance, showing just how powerful the humble Xbox Series X|S can be with the right minds working behind it. Sure, its heavy leanings on the cinematic, atmospheric experience might not be a universal draw, but nobody can deny that Ninja Theory does seem to be thriving in the care of Microsoft. It's one example of the excellent work Xbox is able to produce and facilitate when the stars align and funds are used well.
But with so much uncertainty, is even Ninja Theory safe? A technical marvel though it is, it seems Hellblade 2 never received the raucous attention I'd argue it deserved. That said, Microsoft has shown repeatedly that simply producing good – let alone high-grossing – work has no bearing in exempting studios from the tumult of structural changes. Being a critical Game Pass success couldn't save Tango from falling victim, after all, and despite PUBG publisher Krafton swooping in to save it with a well-timed studio buyback, it stands out in my mind as one of Xbox's biggest losses of the year. All this to say, Indiana Jones has a hell of a lot riding on his strapping shoulders if Microsoft wants to make me forgive and forget.
Looking ahead to all the upcoming Xbox games of 2025, I'm hopeful to see Microsoft Gaming make more earnest strides to ingratiate itself back into our good graces. Delayed first-person RPG Avowed is set to be the first big Xbox exclusive of the year, an upcoming Obsidian game that's already impressing us here at 12DOVE at the preview stages. There's also the long-awaited Fable 4 from Playground Games, folklore-infused gothic adventure South of Midnight, and the new Perfect Dark reboot to look forward to in the near future.
With Xbox exclusives lacking a strong enough identity to cut through the corporate noise in 2024, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has an opportunity to change course. Here's hoping Bethesda sends us off with the memorable experience we've been waiting for, setting a glowing new precedent that Microsoft can uphold – and perhaps surpass – come the new year.
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