Xbox fans want exclusives, more backward compatibility, and free online multiplayer | The Verge

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Xbox fans want exclusives, more backward compatibility, and free online multiplayer

Microsoft’s new Xbox Player Voice portal makes fan feedback a lot more visible.

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Microsoft launched a new Xbox Player Voice portal yesterday, aiming to collect feedback from fans and “make it more visible.” It certainly hasn’t taken long for Xbox fans to make their feedback very clear. The most upvoted feedback on Xbox Player Voice demands exclusive games for Xbox consoles, more backward compatible games, and free online multiplayer.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has already promised that she’s “reevaluating” the approach to Xbox-exclusive games and windowed releases of titles, but there has been no firm commitment to reverse the decision to port games to Play Station and Nintendo Switch. “Xbox was built off of great game exclusives, you cannot sell any consoles without a reason to buy the console compared to your competition or even sending your tentpole games over to your competitor,” says Xbox fan Carlos Hernandez in a feedback post that has been upvoted nearly 7,000 times.

The second top piece of feedback is a request for more backward compatible games. It’s a popular feature of Xbox consoles, allowing owners to play select titles from the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles on the latest Xbox Series S / X generation. Microsoft brought the Xbox backward compatibility program back with 76 new games in 2021, but warned at the time that it had “reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints.”

Xbox fans also want free online multiplayer access, without the need for a subscription. Microsoft already offers free online multiplayer for its Xbox PC games, but console players still need a subscription to access this feature. Fans have demanded parity for years now, so it’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to this particular piece of feedback. Microsoft was forced to drop an Xbox Live Gold requirement for free-to-play games in 2021, but Sony still requires a Play Station subscription for online games, with the exception of free-to-play titles.

Other top feedback posts include requests for an Xbox Game Pass family plan, improvements to the achievements system, and a demand for an HDR Xbox dashboard. You can vote for your favorite ideas over at Microsoft’s main Xbox Player Voice website.

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