Sony is shooting itself in the knee with one announcement after another, and Microsoft hardly has to do anything to look quite good in comparison. However, Xbox isn’t really any better than Sony.
To recap: Sony is currently making one bad move after another. First, they announced the dreadful end of physical games starting in 2028, bringing upon themselves the shitstorm of the century. Even 2 months after the announcement, the comments under every new PlayStation trailer on YouTube are flooded with demands for a disc.
Then it was brought up again that Sony simply closes PlayStation accounts that have been inactive for more than three years. This also means that players lose access to all games, movies, or series purchased with the account. And in mid-August 2026, they followed up with an email explicitly telling players that purchased games don’t actually belong to them; they only have a license to play.
Now lets season that mix with decisions like PlayStation exclusives no longer getting PC ports, the not-so-successful live service initiative, and the end of cooperation with Hideo Kojima – Sony is really in a bad spot.
In contrast, Xbox and Microsoft could laugh to themselves, as their own blunders are forgotten while Sony is currently shooting itself in the foot.
Remember remember Xbox
While Sony is currently shining with bad decisions and communication misshaps, Xbox hasn’t exactly been bathing in glory before all of this either. Recently, for example, there was a new wave of layoffs, which Bethesda and ZeniMax suffered from, in 2024 employees already had to leave. This year, a lot of developers who worked on Elder Scrolls Online were affected.
ESO has been successful enough to allegedly even finance Project Blackbird – a Sci-Fi MMORPG that is no longer in developement.
Besides the layoffs, several development studios have had to leave Xbox: Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Arkane. While the studios are not being closed, they are allowed to operate as independent companies with all their licenses. At least.
It must have been bitter though, especially for Ninja Theory: During the Xbox Showcase at the Summer Game Fest 2026, the latest title for their Senua Universe got promoted (via GameStar). Exactly one month separates the new trailer for the game from the announcement of the studio’s layoffs.
The latest price increases for Game Pass happened some time ago, but in October 2025, especially the jump from 17.99 Euros to 26.99 Euros for the Ultimate subscription caused frustration among players. But prices have since dropped again, at least for the Ultimate subscription by 6 Euros down to 20.99 Euros. But not back to the previous 17.99.
Just on September 4, the company announced that it intends to limit cloud gaming included in the Game Pass in the future. Customers of the most expensive subscription will only have 15 included cloud gaming hours going forward. That is quite little for a month of gaming.
So no, Xbox hasn’t made the best of decisions lately either.
Being directly affected hits harder
The big difference between the (gross) blunders of Sony and Xbox is how much the average gamer is affected at the end of the day.
When Sony announces the end of physical discs for their consoles and the games running on them, PlayStation players felt that immediately. I still want to have my games at home – whether it’s a standard, steelbook, or collector’s edition.
If no physical editions are offered at all anymore, that creates frustration – and I’m not alone in this, as the ongoing discussion on social media shows. Not to mention the fact that according to Sony, when buying digital games, you only get licenses to play.
If I buy something, I want to own it. When I think of my PS4 collection, which consists almost entirely of physical games, I feel like these are my games. I can install and play most of them just with this physical disc. Completely without a PlayStation account or online access. Maybe with a few bugs that were actually fixed by a patch, but I can play them.
The thought of putting 60 – no, 70 – uh, 80, or even 100 Euros into a game that I might not be able to play in a few years because I wasn’t active enough on the account or because my license was revoked? That worries me. It feels like my money just evaporated.
Do I then have to buy the game again? For the same price? Thoughts I don’t want to finish.
What Xbox is doing – the layoffs, studio releases – does not directly affect me as a player.
As harsh as it sounds: Many players tune out industry layoffs after a few minutes because they don’t directly impact their everyday lives. You can see this, for example, in that the layoffs at Xbox were announced almost simultaneously with the end of physical discs. Currently, people are only discussing Sony’s dreadful decisions.
But with layoffs and studios leavnign, maybe a game I’ve heard of doesn’t get released. If the update cycle in Elder Scrolls Online is disrupted due to the layoffs, I won’t notice that until a few months later, at most.
And that’s exactly the crux: Xbox has also done many unpleasant things in recent months and years. But because Sony’s actions directly affect us in our daily lives while Xbox’s actions do not, Xbox appears better now.
A mischivious mind might say a clever Xbox could now use Sony’s blunders to improve its own situation in the rekindled console war.
Of course, it’s great when I can convert my physically purchased license into a digital one. Although, for example, Ubisoft and Square Enix have already said they will not participate. That Hideo Kojima has found a new home at Xbox for his next game is also fantastic.
But one must not forget that Xbox has also recently released several studios into freedom
. That they have laid off thousands of employees. That they are experimenting with their Game Pass prices. Just let that sink in for a moment.
How do you feel about this? Do you generally feel that you are better off with Xbox when it comes to gaming? Or are you more critical of the whole thing like I am? Feel free to let us know in the comments. By the way, Sony has also recently tested something that personally annoys me: Sony was recently caught testing dynamic prices on the PS5 again
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