In the State of the Game Industry Survey (more than 2,300 industry representatives), participants were allowed to specify any number of platforms they were interested in. The picture is harsh: 80% of respondents chose PC, 40% chose PS5, 39% chose Nintendo Switch 2, and only 20% chose Xbox Series X|S. This is a level close to the mobile segment, and the gap is too large to talk about a temporary decline.
At the same time, not long ago the situation looked different. In the same survey, 40% of respondents indicated that their latest project was released on Xbox Series X|S (for comparison: 47% on PS5). Xbox was still holding a high position in the list of platforms, but the trend has changed. Developers directly point to the key factors in their choice: audience reach (78%), business model efficiency (44%), and project accessibility (43%). By these parameters, Xbox is increasingly losing out.
This fits into Microsoft's overall strategy. The company is betting on multiplatform development, while the console is losing its former advantage — the feeling that without Xbox you might miss important releases. Even in the handheld device segment, the priorities are obvious: 40% of developers are targeting Steam Deck and only 7% are targeting ROG Xbox Ally. If Xbox is becoming an "ecosystem," studios are still choosing PC — not necessarily under the Microsoft brand.