I finished all my major projects and assignments for 2025, so now for a change, I’m writing purely for fun. I used to do that back in the day, you know. So here’s an absolutely pointless bit of Xbox fluffery from my shiny Razer RGB keyboard directly to the sparkly pixels of your monitor and/or smartphone.
The Xbox platform we have today is basically an extension of the Xbox One OS we got back in 2013. It seems that next gen could see a bigger shift for the Xbox platform, perhaps with a new OS, or perhaps we end up going all-in on a more Windows-like device. Who knows. Either way, we do know new Xbox hardware is coming, and while it’s unlikely Santa would be able to bring it to us in 2024, there may be some other stocking stuffers and bits and pieces the platform team could look at prioritizing for us in 2025.
Here are MY semi-realistic asks for a more Xboxxy Xboxmas this holiday season. What would you like to see? Hit the comments, I’d like to hear from you too.
1. Xbox / PC cloud save upload success indicator
As someone who has fully embraced Microsoft’s “This is an Xbox” initiative, I now find myself regularly fragging noobs on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 via my Samsung Smart Fridge. However, unfortunately, sometimes my Xbox Cloud Save files haven’t properly synced from my various other “This is an Xbox” devices.
You’d think that in 2024, we’d at least have something analogous to a cloud save state indicator, or even cloud save management system. Xbox was and is a pioneer in all things gaming cloud, so it seems odd to me that we still don’t have the ability to manage or even view the upload state of our cloud saves. Without those cloud saves, there is no “This is an Xbox” initiative, after all. And hey, Steam does it pretty damn well.
All too often do I find that I turned off my Xbox “too quickly” and the save state is out of sync on a secondary Xbox device. It would be nice if Xbox Santa could fix this one for us in 2025.
2. Some more third-party Xbox Play Anywhere love
As noted, I am a huge “This is an Xbox” user now, playing games across Lenovo Legion Go, Xbox Cloud Gaming, my gaming PC, and my Xbox Series X. HOWEVER, very few of my actual games support Xbox Play Anywhere, at least for cross-platform save progression.
It has gotten to the point where I prioritize playing games that do offer some form of device-agnostic saving system. Some games have a proprietary solution, which is fine. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, for example, have their own cloud save account systems you can use. All of Xbox’s first party games do generally, too, via Xbox sign in. Blizzard, while preferring that you buy their games twice for multiple devices (grr Vessel of Hatred), does store your progression in its Battle.net account system as well, at least.
MANY games on Xbox, however, do not. There are mountains of 2D indie games I KNOW I would play more on devices like the Lenovo Legion Go PC gaming handheld if they supported Xbox Cloud Saves. Cult of the Lamb, Blasphemous, Tails of Iron, and others are just a few in my backlog that I’ve found myself groaning over the lack of Xbox Play Anywhere cloud saves. I couldn’t believe my eyes when Death Stranding arrived, not only on Xbox, but also as part of Xbox Play Anywhere, complete with cloud saves. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection too. What joy.
Listen, I’ll even buy your games twice. Santa, at the very least, please force them to let me take my save files to other devices. Thank you!
3. Xbox achievement system revamp
I admit, I’m not much of an achievement hunter. But while I have Santa’s attention, I want to use one of my Christmas wishes to leverage something Xbox fans have constantly been asking me about for the past five years.
Please spare me more DMs, Xbox Santa. Please, revamp the Xbox Achievement system.
Xbox was a pioneer in “fun” gamification features that extended the ecosystem beyond the games themselves. In recent years, though, the system has become forgotten and stagnant. It’s still required that Xbox games support achievements, and other platforms like PlayStation and Steam have also adopted the system too. Both of those, however, have also evolved the system beyond what Xbox offers.
Microsoft should look to offer something like PlayStation’s platinum trophies for full completions, recognizing gamers who put in the work, while also incentivizing longer playtime hours. It’s a win-win. That would also carry across to cloud and Xbox PC games too, since it’s all the same system. Why do none of Xbox’s vast portfolio of mobile games support Xbox achievements, like the old Windows Phone days?!
Xbox has lost many of its platform-level “fun” features like Avatars over the years. There are plenty of ways Xbox achievements could be enhanced to emphasize the fact that Xbox is more than just the console, but it’s the platform ecosystem as well.
4. An Xbox Elite Controller Series 3
I have gone through not one, not two, but three Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 gamepads over the past couple of years. A couple of these were from the Xbox Design Lab I purchased myself, one was a review unit. After a few months of use, all of them died in the same way: a broken right bumper.
Games like Monster Hunter and Elden Ring do demand heavy bumper abuse, but no game should rapidly degrade such an expensive device like that. Also, STALKER 2’s (now fixed) deadzone bug really emphasized to me how much of an issue stick drift can be if developers aren’t accounting for it.
I’ve been using the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro as my primary Xbox controller for a while now. Hall Effect sticks eliminate all joystick drift. Razer switches on the buttons and triggers are as reassuring as their keyboards and mice. But what I find myself missing is the Xbox Elite Controller’s absolutely monstrous battery life, and super convenient charging dock. That charging dock is an absolute killer feature. It’s just a shame that it can’t recharge the bumpers into a working condition.
I would love to see an Xbox Elite Controller Series 3 that solves some of its notorious quality issues, while bringing in features like Hall Effect sticks, improved haptics, and whatever other shiny things Microsoft’s very smart engineers can cook up. It feels overdue, Santa!
Xbox has had a huge amount of wins with Asia games in the last quarter. We saw HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact finally come to Xbox, and rumors are already swirling that Zenless Zone Zero could be next. We saw Death Stranding arrive from Kojima Productions, which is as awesome as it was unlikely. We finally got fully pledged support from Square Enix, seeing classic Final Fantasy titles arrive. Sega has been on board with ATLUS titles like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona, and Yakuza. We’re getting Dynasty Warriors Origins next quarter, and we got Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D as well.
But, I’ve been a very good boy, so, I want more.
Switch／PS5／Steam用『空の軌跡 the 1st（ザ・ファースト）』2025年 全世界同時発売決定！最新アナウンストレーラー公開✨ティザーサイトも更新しましたhttps://t.co/4RRm0avqRd#空の軌跡 #RPG #軌跡シリーズ pic.twitter.com/sB3VyiFQ2uDecember 19, 2024
Falcom’s Ys and Trails games are something I get a mountain of DMs about regularly. The firm is expanding its footprint in recent years, and, as usual, the games are exclusively not on Xbox. It’s also CRIMINALLY UPSETTING that Monster Hunter, one of the biggest franchises on Earth, is exclusively skipping Xbox for Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2, which are available on practically every system except Xbox. Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2, being turn-based games originally designed for small screens, would be ideal for Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and touch controls, too.
And sure, I know Xbox’s footprint in Japan isn’t that hot (you could even call it cold). However, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona, and Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters seem to perform well on Xbox in the West regardless. Genshin Impact is riding high on the most-played games list too, and Final Fantasy 14 was one of Xbox’s biggest sellers in 2024 according to Circana data.
Ergo, the few sentences above prove without any shadow of a doubt that Xbox should absolutely invest heavily in bringing any and every game from the region to Xbox. SANTA!
What do YOU want from Xbox for Christmas?
As we head into 2025, it would be erroneous to suggest Xbox hasn’t had a bit of an odd year. With its exclusive Xbox titles now not-so-exclusive, many are predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox ecosystem, at a time when it actually has more users than ever according to legally-binding comments to shareholders.
The doom and gloom is absolutely not something any Xbox fan wants to be experiencing, especially over the holiday season. This is why Xbox Santa should read my list above, and definitely action each and every demand request suggestion for Xbox fans and customers everywhere and anywhere.
What do YOU want Xbox Santa to bring to your Christmas tree (or any other similar regional / cultural holiday gifts event)? Hit the comments, let’s respectfully heap on our demands suggestions together.
