Divinity: Original Sin II is one of the most recent examples of single-player games doing really well.

Rise of the Tomb Raider(if someone responds "it performed under expectations" be honest, we all know why that is), Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Nier Automata, Divinity Original Sin 2, etc

Xbox's expectation of either being a $20 indie or $60 mega project is ridiculous. No one cares about 4k resolution if they have less than 4 games to play

The shift away from single player games has been happening for a while. You think it's SP keeping GTA V alive? Most of the best sellers are MP games. I will keep playing SP forever but it's not as lucrative as multiplayer these days. Look at my gamertag in my sig. I mostly play SP. I feel the pain but these companies aren't your friends. There in it to make money.

Remember the backlash when Titanfall came out for having no campaign only a couple years ago? How many games have no campaign now with little to no backlash? More than we can count. This isn't just a Microsoft issue... It's industry wide.

Holy shit, sorry! I read the budget part, but when I made the comment later on I forgot to exclude it to smaller budget titles!

That being said, there have been quite a lot of 2nd tier(or "AA") games that have released that have sold very well this generation. Hellblade and yes, Bayonetta 2, are good examples. 

Whether MS is losing or not or how much they suck at console business doesnt make his statement wrong. He is 100% right. Period. He doesnt say AAA production is impossible. He says it got harder. Naturally, with each new generation games got more refined, more complex, costs for tech and personal rose. Budgets for marketing too of course, main two reasons are higher risk, so you gotta make sure people know and... the rising tide of products by the competition, which not only consists of AAA/AA but also of all those crappy little time eaters.

Of course there are ways to "rationalize", ways to lower costs and finance. For example, like CDprojekt, paying far lower wages than Electronic Arts, but slaving there employees more, and despite this getting goverment funds. Sucking up with "consumer friendly" PR does lend a helping hand in the marketing war.

Simple outsourcing work to third world contries where wages are even lower is another viable option. Like Sony did in case of Horizon Zero Dawn. I think production cost (+ marketing) was at a low 60m $.

Games by japanese devs were mentioned? Ahjes, Japan, known for having the longest working hours in the world. Apropos. I think i should do some working.

EDIT: OH noes, he is a she. My bad.

I'll give my comment when I have time to write a longer post don't worry. If you thought that was an attack I think you're a bit too sensitive.

Anyway, she's not the only one saying this about sp AAA projects. And she also said there will always be sp only games and games that tell rich stories. 

... what?

*reads it again*

... what?

Just don't buy games from big publishers anymore. Go Indie. Indie devs bring you stuff like Hellblade for 30 bucks with no microtransactions whatsoever. You get great story-telling titles as well as arcade games and even multiplayer stuff. Screw AAA publishers, they have become way too greedy. Punish them with your wallet, by not buying their games. It's the only language they understand.

Buttttt it have all the Multiplats in better resolution than PS4, and even though I have a dual Titan PC, I'll buy X1X for no exclusives because of reasons.