I’ve owned every Xbox since the original hulking black box from 2001 — the one that sounded like a jet engine every time you booted up Halo. I’ve always played and owned other consoles (because being a fanboy for a multi-billion dollar corporation is stupid), but since the Xbox 360 era, it’s been my main gaming platform, mostly because it’s the one on which I made the most friends/connections. Even as Xbox lost the ground it once clawed away from Sony over the past two generations, I’ve stuck with it. But now, in a post-cross-play world where those connections no longer depend on one console or platform, I’m starting to feel like the next Xbox console might not be made for me.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Xbox was already working on its next-gen console offering, despite rumors that it was moving away from hardware. In a recent interview with Mashable (h/t IGN), Xbox president Sarah Bond said Microsoft’s next-gen console will be a “very premium, very high-end curated experience.” It’s the latest in a string of hints that the company’s future hardware will lean closer to luxury tech than living-room console.
The timing doesn’t exactly calm nerves, either — Microsoft just launched the $1,000 ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, and the price of the Series X quietly crept up to $649.99 this fall. Add in the hikes in Game Pass prices, and even the Xbox dev kit, and suddenly the cost of staying loyal to Xbox — even as a developer — feels heavier than ever.
To be crystal clear, I’m not opposed to innovation in the gaming industry. In fact, I’m very pro-innovation, and the idea of an Xbox console that doubles as a portable Windows gaming PC, runs Steam or Epic, and syncs your library across devices sounds amazing. But calling it “premium” suggests a shift away from accessibility (this is the same company that just dropped a $1,000 handheld), and that stings.
As someone who not just plays a lot of sports games, but also games of other genres as well, this hits even harder. Each year brings multiple releases — Madden, NBA 2K, EA FC, MLB The Show, NHL, etc. — and those add up fast. If this new console crosses into the $800 range or even the thousands, and if next-gen titles eventually push past $70, then even diehards will have to pick and choose which franchises to follow. The “play everything, everywhere” dream starts to feel more like “play one or two games, if you can afford them.”
The rest of the industry isn’t blameless, either. Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro currently retails at $749.99, and Nintendo is selling the Switch 2 for $500 and has even sold some games for $80. Hardware makers are chasing “premium experiences” — ray tracing, AI-enhanced visuals, faster SSDs — while ignoring that many players are just trying to keep up.
Microsoft has long pitched Xbox as the inclusive, player-first ecosystem. But lately, that message feels at odds with its direction. Raising prices across hardware, software, and subscriptions doesn’t make the platform premium, but rather makes it exclusive — “give us your money, economy and accessibility be damned.”
If the next Xbox truly aims to be a “curated experience,” I just hope that experience still includes the people who’ve been here from the start. Because for the first time since I picked up that translucent Duke controller, I’m not sure I can afford to stay.
