XBOX Survey Suggests Minecraft Could be Going XBOX Exclusive
ππ»πΈπ°πΎπΌOn October 14, Windows Central posted a leaked XBOX Research survey question asking how users would react to XBOX-developed titles, including Minecraft, becoming XBOX console-exclusive.
XBOX Research is an XBOX department responsible for collecting feedback to be used across the XBOX ecosystem. Recently, a screenshot of a survey given to XBOX Research members was posted online.
As stated in the survey, this change would not be exclusive to Minecraft, but all XBOX-developed titles (excluding Call of Duty) would be affected.
It is also important to note the use of the term "console-exclusive," which clarifies that PCs and mobile devices would not be affected by the change.
Although the question comes from an official source, these surveys are usually used in the very beginning of a large amount of testing and clearance for a plan so extreme to be executed, so it is highly unlikely this will actually lead to any changes any time soon; especially if you consider the recent addition of the Nintendo Switch 2 to the long list of devices you can play Minecraft on, showing that Mojang has little interest in using Minecraft's popularity to boost XBOX sales at this time.
But the possibility is still very real that some variation of this plan will be implemented. XBOX CEO Asha Sharma's statement that she will put more focus than ever on Minecraft as XBOX's most successful game, alongside her plans to "reset the XBOX business," might mean XBOX exclusive titles will be returning soon rather than later, undoing XBOX's long-term plan to build a universal gaming platform which has damaged the XBOX business.
Overall, it is very unlikely this will actually happen.
Although consoles such as Playstation and Nintendo Switch would keep their current releases of Minecraft, they would no longer recieve updates and likely not have services like Realms or Marketplace maintained, cutting them off from the remaining community on PC, XBOX, and mobile.
This change would lead to an increase in console sales for XBOX, having the intended effect of boosting XBOX's appeal in the market.
But as mentioned previously, the community would be split in two, making it hard for people to connect and play with other users. The damage to the Minecraft Bedrock community would be unrepairable as millions of players are separated from each other.
MCBE News will continue to monitor and update as more information becomes available.
Primary source: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-is-considering-making-fallout-the-elder-scrolls-and-even-minecraft-xbox-console-exclusive-surveys-detailed