It could never last, but it felt like it could. 2021 was such an unbelievable year for Xbox Game Pass compared to the years that came before it, especially considering EA Play was added to Game Pass Ultimate a few months prior, and of course we can’t forget about the massive acquisition of Bethesda as well! The brand was firing on most cylinders at this time (let’s not talk about the Halo Infinite delay), and the future of Xbox seemed extremely bright.
Now, look, I know I’m talking in the past tense here, but I have no regrets whatsoever about buying into the Xbox Series X|S generation. The consoles have proven to be incredibly well-designed over the past few years, we’ve seen some unbelievable games, I love the features like Quick Resume and backwards compatibility, Xbox Game Pass has delivered some incredible titles… the list goes on. It’s not all been smooth sailing, but I believe this has easily been the best generation from a hardware and features standpoint that Xbox has ever delivered.
I think the reason I’m feeling nostalgic isn’t because Xbox is bad these days, but everything’s quietened down. FPS Boost and backwards compatibility are still there, but they’re not being added to anymore. Xbox Games with Gold is gone. Phil Spencer and his team don’t talk as much anymore. The Activision Blizzard acquisition has gone through, but we’ve only seen a few games added to Game Pass so far (admittedly including the massive Black Ops 6!).
Things will inevitably ramp up again as we approach the next Xbox generation (hopefully including a handheld of some form), but for now, let’s use this relatively quiet period to celebrate two consoles that have given us so much joy over the past four years. Hopefully we’ll get many more moments to reminisce about as the Series X|S era rolls on…
How are you feeling about these consoles four years later? Tell us in the comments down below.