it's no secret xbox It's changing the type. Once poised to dominate the home console space, the company has seen its market share shrink over the past few years, steadily outselling the PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and even the Nex Playground, a niche family of gaming devices many core gamers had never even heard of last year.
Poor Xbox Series console sales coincided with a mass migration of Xbox exclusives to other platforms. Gears of War, haloand forzaPerhaps the “big three” of Xbox have made or will make the leap to PlayStation. The implications of this go beyond the console war stance, as Xbox is clearly undermining the value of its consoles by rejecting the practices of its own exclusives. In any case, it looks like Xbox will not only have fewer exclusives, but also fewer games in general, as at least some developers appear to be leaving the platform. This can be seen as another sign that your brand is becoming less relevant. There are several examples of this just this year.
1348 Ex Voto
- 1348 Ex Voto PC and PlayStation 5 release date: March 12, 2026
A story-driven medieval adventure game, 1348 Ex Voto It follows Aita, an errant knight in Italy, as she searches for her “closest person”, Bianca, who is kidnapped during a raid on the city. 1348 Ex Voto It's inspired by real medieval history and battles, and isn't all that different from its fellow medieval adventures. Kingdom Come: SalvationAlthough the former does not aim for the same breadth of content and freedom.
In a recent Twitter post, 1348 Ex Voto Publisher Dear Villagers has provided an update on the previously planned Xbox port.
“We previously announced that the game would be coming to Xbox consoles, but the unfortunate news is that that is no longer the case. As indie teams get closer to release, their priorities must constantly be evaluated and sometimes shifted to deliver the best experience. With this in mind, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the Xbox version to focus on the PC and PS5 versions of the game.”
Who is that character?
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
start
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
Easy (7.5 seconds) Medium (5.0 seconds) Hard (2.5 seconds) Eternal Death (2.5 seconds)
Nickelodeon Splat Pack
- Nickelodeon Splat Pack PC, PS5, Switch release date: January 30, 2026
Something lighter and more immediately recognizable; Nickelodeon Splat Pack It also recently canned a planned Xbox port. Not a new IP or a clear modification of an existing IP, Nickelodeon Splat Pack A bundle of classic SNES and Genesis games based on Nickelodeon properties. Like other classic game bundles, Nickelodeon Splat Pack It emulates the original title while adding small quality-of-life features like the modern save feature. splat pack Includes 3 90s Nick games:
- tenacity
- Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Days
- Ahhh!!! real monster
Nickelodeon Splat Pack Released on January 30, 2026. The cancellation of the planned Xbox Series X|S port was announced just a few days ago. Here's what Dear Villagers had to say: Exvoto 1348Xbox cancellation is ambiguous, splat pack Descriptions from publisher Limited Run Games are largely non-existent. A company representative told gaming publication Gematsu: splat pack No reason was specified, but you won't be getting the Xbox version.
cleaning!
- cleaning! PC, PS5, Switch release date: April 15, 2026
The most recent Xbox cancellation; cleaning! It's a cute top-down cleaning simulation. power wash simulatorHowever, there is more emphasis on the whimsical and fantastical. Players are tasked with vacuuming, mopping, and scrubbing various areas, from a regular apartment to a haunted library.
As in the case of Nickelodeon Splat Packspecific reason cleaning!'s Xbox cancellation is unclear at this time. It's possible that this game will be released on Microsoft consoles at some point in the future, but there don't seem to be any plans for this at the moment.
What do canceled Xbox ports mean?
A quick search online for the aforementioned games yields several arguments from gamers passionately declaring that these cancellations don't matter because the games themselves are indie and re-released. I understand where these people are coming from, but such arguments completely miss the point. This isn't about Xbox players not getting a GOTY contender. It's about publishers who, for whatever reason, don't see Xbox as a platform worth investing in right now.
Developing various ports of a game takes time and money, and these costs are expected to be recouped (and then some) once the ports are actually released. For example, if the opportunity arises to make a PS5 game and bring it to Switch later, we will do so, but only if we feel we can get enough players on Switch to justify additional development, marketing, and distribution resources. The aforementioned cancellations suggest that publishers and developers are starting to view Xbox Series consoles as a low priority, as their small installed base (not to mention reliance on Game Pass) could result in fewer players.
If anything, the fact that these smaller titles are leaving the Xbox could actually be seen as more detrimental to its future. Because even the latest games, which are undoubtedly about being as accessible as possible, suggest that they don't really need the Microsoft platform at this stage. But like everything, we'll have to wait and see how this shakes out. Xbox may get these games and more at a later date. But the immediate dismissal of Xbox is still telling.
