If Xbox Isn't About Exclusives or Game Pass, What Is It About?

Microsoft announced another round of layoffs and studio restructuring on September 22, 2026. As part of the changes, Activision will expand its responsibilities to include Rare and World's Edge, while a new team under Activision will take over development of the next Halo game. Microsoft also announced another 268 job cuts across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the Xbox Games Studios management and central functions layer.

To me, this is another clear sign that we may be heading toward further enshittification of Xbox, and especially Game Pass.

I recently discussed the rumour that day-one releases could eventually stop being included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, along with Microsoft's decision to move away from unlimited cloud streaming under the service and toward monthly time limits. This latest restructuring only adds more questions about what content will actually remain part of Game Pass in the future.

Let's start with Halo.

The fact that the next Halo game will now be developed under Activision raises an interesting question about how Microsoft will eventually define its different publishing groups. Activision already controls an enormous catalogue, but much of that catalogue still isn't available through Game Pass. There have been notable additions, including Call of Duty and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, but Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard hasn't resulted in the company's entire back catalogue suddenly appearing on Game Pass. So I can't help but wonder whether this restructuring could eventually give Xbox another way to differentiate between its publishing groups.

If Halo is now being developed under Activision, could Microsoft eventually use that distinction to justify treating future Halo releases differently from games developed and published directly under Xbox Game Studios? I'm not saying that this is what Microsoft has announced. It hasn't. In fact, Halo: Campaign Evolved launched on Xbox, PC, cloud and PS5 while also being included day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. But I can’t help but wonder.

And, as an extra point, I can't help but wonder what happens to Halo's identity when its next major game is being developed under the same publishing organization responsible for Call of Duty. Personally, I feel Halo hasn't had the same identity it had during its earlier years, particularly around the time of Halo: Reach. Moving its future development into another corporate division doesn't exactly reassure me that the franchise is going to rediscover that identity.

Then there is the question of Xbox exclusivity.

Microsoft has been making what I would describe as a soft move back toward console exclusivity. I'm using "soft" deliberately, because the company has not announced anything further since it confirmed that games such as Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution would be Xbox console exclusives at its Xbox Games Showcase in June. That makes me wonder whether any future push toward exclusivity will primarily apply to games published directly under the Xbox Game Studios banner. Look at Activision and Bethesda. Their games have continued to appear on other platforms, even after Microsoft acquired both companies. Halo: Campaign Evolved itself is a good example of this approach, launching on Xbox, PC and PS5.

This leaves me with a much bigger question.

If Xbox doesn't have exclusives and Game Pass doesn't have day-one releases, what exactly is the value proposition outside of online console multiplayer? Cloud saves are included as part of the Xbox ecosystem without requiring a separate subscription. That's different from Nintendo and PlayStation, where cloud saves are tied to Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus. And free-to-play games such as Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone and Marvel Rivals don't require a paid subscription for online multiplayer.

So why would someone subscribe?

If Game Pass eventually becomes primarily a back catalogue, I wonder how much value it will actually provide when older games can often be purchased relatively cheaply used? Of course, there are still advantages to having a large library available through a subscription. Convenience matters, and there are always going to be expensive titles and games that aren't available physically. But if the biggest selling points of Game Pass continue to disappear, the reason to maintain the subscription becomes much less obvious.

And that brings me back to my original concern.

No matter how you look at it, it feels like a lose-lose situation for consumers. Either we continue paying for a service that gradually offers less of what originally made it attractive, or we cancel and accept that we're going to lose access a few crucial components such as online play because the subscription value is no longer there.

I know I'm looking at all my cards right now and considering whether each of them is actually worth keeping. However, when I look at my own household and realize that the only online gaming we currently do is Fortnite, maybe the answer is clearer than I initially thought. For now, I'm locked into my current services until the end of 2027, and I've already decided the fate of one of them. Boy, will I miss those cloud saves on that platform.