Have Microsoft take a smaller percent of sales for developers that allow it. Right now it is 30%, but they could lower it to say 20-25%.

Glad to see the doing well, the jump in quality from Vampyr and Banishers was noticeable. I hope that they continue to make those AAA action games.

Windows Store is already 12%. So if they were to merge, I could see Xbox Store cut dropping.

You could probably say like, for future releases, okay we're merging the stores so you will lose money from people not rebuying titles but lets be honest, Windows Store wasn't large to begin with, so if we cut Xbox Store down to like 20% (or lower) that will cover what you lose in possible Windows Store sales, Lol.

But how do you get all the old licenses universal? Would probably have to pay off a bunch of publishers, Lol. That's really the only issue in this, I think working out universal licenses for future titles is negotiable but going back to negotiating thousands of older licenses across dozens of publishers? Lol.

What I would say as well, a handheld device made by Xbox would pretty much kill any interest I have in Asus and all those other third parties too, Lmao. Sucks for them. I'm already half convinced by SteamDeck but I want Game Pass/Xbox OS/Xbox Profile, I'd have definitely got a Steamdeck if I was a major Steam user though.

I guess it's possible they don't use Windows at all for the handheld and instead use Xbox OS + Xbox Store, Lol.

Jut in my mind I always thought it would be Windows but does it need to be?

Heck, I'd have more faith in Xbox OS team making a handheld adapted OS than the Windows team.

I think it has to be Windows or a stripped down Windows, if they design a custom Xbox OS and make it a closed ecosystem it is going to really struggle with game support I think, either Xbox would have to mainly limit their handheld to earlier gen games through BC tech, or Xbox would have to mandate ports like on Series S and they would then have it holding back their next gen home console even more than Series S is holding back Series X. Afterall, the next-gen Xbox home console in 2026 will likely have at least 45 tflops to Series X 12 tflops, and mobile handheld tech available in 2026 to go into this hybrid docking Xbox handheld will probably be like 9 tflops at most, so we're looking at like 1/5th the power at best, and that is if this docking handheld is quite high-end and pricey.

I think Xbox really needs to just use a low level custom Windows next gen, that way it'll have access to both optimized Xbox ports of games on the Xbox Store, and also PC games via a Steam installation. 

I'd rather MS make a deal with Nintendo where MS gets a higher % of royalty in exchange for their 1st party games releasing on Switch 2. Maybe a % evenly between what typical 3rd party game companies get and 1st party.

-Boost to the Switch 2 library and selling abilities.

-Boost to Microsoft's profits on game sales.

-Eliminates financial loss risk of R&D on a Xbox handheld that will probably not sell too well, otherwise.

I have been trying to stay away from this discussion because I don't have a horse on this race. I mean, I don't even have an Xbox so, far be it for me to tell Xbox owners how they should feel, but if I had had one, I would be extremely annoyed with this situation, and I'm really surprised to see you all so chill about it. Seems to me like you all have not stopped to think of what this all implies:

SoT releasing on Playstation means that there is a group of Rare devs out there that, instead of working on Everwild, have been busy working on a project for playstation.

Pentiment and Grounded releasing on Playstation means that there is a group of Obsidian devs out there that, instead of working on Avowed or Outer World 2, have been busy working on a project for playstation.

Hi-Fi Rush releasing on PS means that Tango devs have been busy working on a project for PS instead of working on a project for Xbox, therefore, Xbox gamers will now have to wait longer to play the next Tango Project.

To summarize, every person working on a project for Playstation is a person that could be working on a project for Xbox. And if you tell me "they probably hired someone else to do it", then I would have to say, "then they could have hired that someone else to remake Lost Odissey for Xbox Series".

I mean, they haven't even delivered on their "1 AAA every quarter" promise and now we find out that the reason they are not delivering on that promise is because they have been busy working on projects for other consoles? Like, what in the actual hell?

Anyways, rant is over. Maybe it was better to wait for the actual announcement to do this, but I just needed to take this off my chest. Thank you all for listening.

I'd take Blue Dragon too.

I don’t know what I was expecting but a podcast on a Thursday wasn’t it lol. A podcast is a real casual way of doing this, makes me think they’ll not really say anything outside of a “case by case basis” and we’ll be right back at square one 🥲