Xbox Game Studios CEO Matt Booty recently told Axios that Microsoft had “moved on to Gen 9.” There are presently no internal Xbox teams working on anything for the Xbox One, with the exception of updates for enduring live-service games like The Elder Scrolls Online, so it seems that he actually means it. Of course, Xbox One players still have the option to play cloud-based first-party games if they subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate.
Many people who still cling to the Xbox One will probably be relieved to hear that it is finally being abandoned, however others may be angered by the news. The “crossgen” period, in which games are published for both last-gen and current-gen consoles, has gone on far longer than normal due to hardware shortages and the high cost of next-gen consoles.
Perhaps too long, since it has arguably constrained the possibilities of games that still must be designed around XB1/PS4 restrictions. Sony, a competitor of Microsoft, hasn’t totally committed to abandoning the PS4, but several of their planned titles, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, are PS5-only.
Even though Microsoft is retiring the Xbox One, don’t count on them to do the same with the less powerful Xbox Series S. Booty has acknowledged that getting games to run on both the Xbox Series X and S requires “more work,” but internal teams have improved at navigating the Series S’ constraints and “sharp edges” lately.