Microsoft has taken many strides in getting titles on Xbox. Repairing relationships with indie and Japanese developers alike, more titles have released on its platforms this generation. However, games still skip the platform. For most of its fans, there is an acceptance when it comes to Japanese titles but it seems AA games are now potentially skipping the platform now.

Enotira: The Last Song Ends Development on Xbox Version

Announced for Xbox platforms via the ID@Xbox Program in 2022, Enotira: The Last Song is a Italian Souls-like RPG. The title wears it’s Italian inspiration on it’s selves with beautiful locations to fight dangerous monsters in, all while being part of the first wave of Unreal Engine 5 titles to show of the technology. The title is inbound for release for PlayStation 5 and PC storefronts August 21st, but Xbox versions are no more.

Statement from the developer, shared via Gematsu is as follows:

“Regarding the release on Xbox, we have decided, in the interest of ensuring a superior experience for PC and PlayStation 5 players, to reassess the possibility of an Xbox release post-launch.”

When reading the statement as-is, it sounds very condescending to its playerbase. Telling an audience, that you directly partnered with ID@Xbox to promote your release they aren’t worth the effort, is a genuinely bad look. In addition, one must wonder what the issue is.

Is the Series S bottle-necking the main Series X SKU, not unlike the situation surrounding 2023’s Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3? Or does the developer not have the resources anymore to make a Xbox SKU? Hopefully more information will come out as this story developers.

This isn’t the only exciting AA title skipping Xbox, however.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy Xbox Version Canceled

Announced June 2022, developer Baby Robot Games revealed exciting 3D stealth platformer Erban: Shadow Legacy. It was originally set to release within Game Pass sometime in 2023, but the title got delayed to 2024.

As of this writing the developer took the title and is publishing the game on their own, resulting in the console SKU being no more.

They provided a statement via official Twitter/X account and provided a PR statement when True Achievements reached out for a comment;

“We confirm that the game has sadly been canceled for Xbox Game Pass due to the separation from Raw Fury as a publisher,” said a PR representative from Baby Robot Games. “We will do our best to release it on Xbox Series as soon as possible, but right now, our resources are very limited, and we can’t afford [to do] the porting.”

In this situation, it seems like the developer cannot release the title without a partner. So that begs the question, will Microsoft step in?

Overall Thoughts and Concerns

While Xbox has had success in recent years getting titles on both Game Pass and its platforms, situations like these two could potentially be the small domino. For those that only have Xbox as their home console, games leaving the console is a disappointing situation. More so when Xbox’s own titles are releasing on Switch and PlayStation platforms.

Regarding what Xbox can do in this situation, a few solutions could be open. From funding the port themselves too getting one of their own teams to make them, that’s a possible answer. But that doesn’t solve the bigger issue at play.

Personally speaking, it’s clear with specific games skipping Xbox that publishers and developers only see Game Pass, not Xbox as the platform. Notice how Capcom’s biggest games release on the platform, but specific games don’t. The most recent examples are Monster Hunter Stories 1 & 2, despite Monster Hunter World being a huge success on Xbox. But they release Exoprimal and the upcoming Path of the Goddess on Xbox via Game Pass, implying Xbox funding those ports are the only reason they come over.

And we can’t forget the Materia in the room, with Final Fantasy only recently coming back to the console. When AA titles that usually release on Xbox begin skipping the platform… Concern is a valid feeling to have.

What do you all think? Could Xbox solve this issue? Or is this one of their own making? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Avoiding the Green – Promising Upcoming Titles Skipping Xbox appeared first on Lords of Gaming.