Microsoft Isn’t Happy With The State of Xbox, Grubb Says; Hi-Rush Didn’t Make Enough Money [Update]

Update: Xbox’s head of marketing Aaron Greenberg has popped up to refute the rumors that Hi-Fi Rush was a disappointment, saying it met “all key measurements and expectations.” Of course, it’s Greenberg’s job to say such things. How much weight you give his statement is up to you.

Hi-Fi RUSH was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.

— Aaron Greenberg ????????‍♂️????U (@aarongreenberg) April 21, 2023

Original Story: According to known journalist Jeff Grubb, Microsoft isn’t too happy with the current state of the Xbox gaming division.

In a new episode of Grubb’s Game Mess, the journalist talked with GamesBeat managing editor Mike Minotti about recent hardware sales data and the state of Sony and Microsoft. As most of you know will know, Microsoft has long been criticized for its Xbox first-party output, and Grubb had some interesting, and possibly disturbing things to say about the gaming division. In addition, Grubb also mentioned the somewhat underperforming Hi-Fi Rush.

We’ve included the episode down below. Grubb and Mike talk about Hi-Fi Rush around the 22:25 mark and the state of Xbox at the 29:40 mark.

“Do you think management is happy with the state of Xbox right now?”, managing editor Minotti asked Grubb. Grubb said, “I can tell you, they are not”. He added They’re upset”.

“We’re just trying to diagnose it a little bit right. “You know, they didn’t release a first-party game last year, and if that doesn’t affect you if you always have something to play again, that’s awesome, but a lot of people do [] regret getting their Xbox.”

On the topic of Tango Gameworks’ rhythm-based action game Hi-fi Rush, Grubb said that the title underperformed financially. The title was shadow-dropped earlier this year and received praise for its slick combination of rhythm and platforming action. In addition, the game managed to bring back the colorful characters of older generations alongside a somewhat jolly story. The game had an amazing start on Game Pass and Steam, even becoming one of the best-selling games on Steam for a short while. After the initial surge of players and interest, however, it seemed that the hype for Hi-fi Rush plunged, and this appears to be supported by what Grubb has been hearing about the game.

“I think the game was too good to be a cute little shadow-drop”, Minotti said during the stream. “I gotta say I disagree. I think I disagreed with you at the time, but based on what I’ve heard, it just didn’t straight up didn’t make the money it needed to make. Grubb continued, “I mean, it got good reviews, the buzz was good, so where do you put the blame for something like that? Is it the price, is it the shadow drop or could it have sold more, or is it Game Pass?”

“This is something that I would really like to ask Xbox about. “You have Game Pass, which does incentive a huge number of people to not buy games.”

Grubb went on by talking about the effect Game Pass could have on game sales and sales of microtransactions. It’s an interesting episode, which some of you might want to listen to in full.

Do you agree with Grubb about the state of Xbox? Is Microsoft really not happy with it? And what about Hi-fi Rush? Hit the comments below.