It's no secret Xbox transforms varieties. The company, once poised to dominate the home console space, has seen shrinking market share in recent years, consistently being outsold by the PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and, as of last year, even the Nex Playground, a niche family gaming device that many core gamers haven't even heard of.
The underwhelming sales of Xbox series consoles have coincided with a mass migration of exclusive Xbox products to other platforms: even Gears of War, Haloand Forzaundoubtedly Xbox's “big three,” have made or will make the leap to PlayStation. The impact of this goes beyond console warfare, as Xbox is clearly undermining the value of its consoles by removing the practice of first-party exclusives. In any case, it seems that Xbox is not only getting fewer exclusive games, but fewer games in general, as at least some developers seem to be leaving the platform behind, which can be seen as another manifestation of the brand's declining relevance. This year alone contains several examples of this.
1348 Ex Voto
- 1348 Ex Voto Release date for PC and PlayStation 5: March 12, 2026
A story-focused medieval adventure game, 1348 Ex Voto follows Italian knight-errant Aeta as she searches for her “closest”, Bianca, who is kidnapped during a raid on their town. 1348 Ex Voto is inspired by real medieval history and combat, not unlike other great medieval adventures Kingdom Come: Deliverancealthough the former does not aim for the same breadth of content and freedom.
In a recent post on Twitter, 1348 Ex Voto publisher Dear Villagers gave an update on its previously planned Xbox port:
“While we previously announced that the game would be released on Xbox consoles, we have the unfortunate news that this is no longer the case. As the release approaches for the indie team, priorities are constantly being evaluated and sometimes they need to change in order to deliver the best possible experience. With this in mind, we made the difficult decision to cancel the Xbox version in order to focus efforts on the PC and PS5 versions of the game.”
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Start
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
Nickelodeon Splat Pack
- Nickelodeon Splat Pack Release date for PC, PS5 and Switch: January 30, 2026
Something more light-hearted and instantly recognisable, Nickelodeon Splat Pack also recently canned its planned Xbox port. Rather than being a new IP or distinct spin on an existing one, Nickelodeon Splat Pack is a bundle of classic SNES and Genesis games based on Nickelodeon properties. Just like other classic game packs, Nickelodeon Splat Pack emulates the original titles while adding small quality-of-life features like modern save functionality. Splat Pack contains three Nick games from the 90s:
- INTESTINES
- Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day
- AAAHH!!! Real monsters
Nickelodeon Splat Pack released on January 30, 2026; the cancellation of its planned Xbox Series X|S port was announced just days before. While Dear Villager's comments about Ex Voto 1348The Xbox cancellation is vague, Splat Pack publisher Limited Run Games' explanation is mostly non-existent: a representative from the company told gaming outlet Gematsu that Splat Pack wouldn't be getting Xbox versions, though they didn't specify why.
Cleaning!
- Cleaning! Release date for PC, PS5 and Switch: April 15, 2026
The latest of the Xbox cancellations, Cleaning! is a sweet, top-down cleaning sim in the style of Power Wash Simulatorhowever, with a greater focus on whimsy and the fantastic. Players are tasked with vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing a variety of areas, from ordinary apartments to haunted libraries.
As in the case of Nickelodeon Splat Packthe specific reasons behind Cleaning!The Xbox cancellation is unclear at this time. It's possible that the game will make its way to Microsoft's consoles at some point in the future, but there don't seem to be any plans for this at this time.
What do these aborted Xbox ports mean, if anything?
A quick search for these aforementioned games online will return several claims from gamers who eagerly declare that these cancellations don't matter because the games themselves are indies and re-releases and therefore unimportant. I can understand where these people are coming from, but such arguments completely miss the point. This isn't about Xbox players not getting GOTY contenders. It's about publishers, for whatever reason, not seeing Xbox as a platform worth investing in right now.
It takes time and money to develop various ports of a game, and it is expected that those costs will be recouped, and then some, when the port is actually released. For example, if I make a PS5 game and later have the opportunity to bring it to the Switch, I will, but only if I feel like I'll get enough players on the Switch to justify the extra development, marketing, and distribution resources. The aforementioned cancellations suggest that publishers and developers are starting to see Xbox Series consoles as a lower priority, as their small install base (not to mention reliance on Game Pass) may result in fewer players.
If anything, the fact that these smaller titles are veering away from the Xbox can be seen as actually more devastating to the Xbox's future, as it suggests that even upcoming games, which would undoubtedly benefit from being as readily available as possible, don't really need Microsoft's platform at this stage. But as with everything, we'll just have to wait and see how this shakes out: Xbox could end up getting these games and more at some later date. But the immediate neglect of Xbox is still telling.
