Matt Booty reaffirms strict first-party strategy

02/25/26 - Matt Booty, CCO of Xbox, has emphasized in an interview with Windows Central that Xbox will not be a pure publisher. Instead, games will continue to be developed in close partnership with the Microsoft platform.

"Our studio system is fully designed to act as a first-party provider. We're not just set up as a publisher," explained Matt Booty. "A central part of our partnership with the Microsoft platform is early involvement in hardware decisions – including the work we've done to get games like Gears of War to work optimally on new devices like the Xbox Ally.

This is firmly anchored in our structure, and we are sticking to it. As a first-party game publisher, we are clearly committed to working closely with our platform team."

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Digital Foundry expresses concerns about graphics quality

02/24/26 - Digital Foundry expresses concerns about the graphics quality of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on Switch 2 in a new video.

Despite the increase to 60 fps in TV and handheld mode, the display seems technically immature. The team analysed the implementation and reported visible weaknesses in the image reconstruction. Still images appear sharp, details smear in motion; thin objects such as cables warp.

The internal resolution is apparently below 1080p before upscaling takes place. Indications point to SMAA, but the result does not meet the usual standard. Instead of full DLSS integration, easier AI upscaling will probably be used. Although the higher frame rate significantly improves the reaction speed, the visual compromises are considerable. It remains to be seen whether Nintendo will improve with updates.