This is no secret Xbox changes species. The company that was once so poised to dominate the home console space has seen its market share shrink over the past few years as it has been steadily outsold by the PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and, since last year, even Nex Playground, a dedicated family gaming device that many key players haven't even heard of.
The staggering sales of the Xbox Series console coincided with the mass migration of Xbox exclusives to other platforms: even Gears of War, Haloand Forzaarguably the “big three” of Xbox, have made or will make the jump to PlayStation. The impact of this goes beyond console war posturing, as Xbox is clearly undermining the value of its consoles by abandoning the practice of first-party exclusives. In any case, it would appear that Xbox is not only getting fewer exclusives, but fewer games in general, as at least some developers seem to be leaving the platform, which could be seen as another sign of the brand's declining relevance. This year alone contains several examples.
1348 Ex Voto
- 1348 Ex Voto PC and PlayStation 5 release date: March 12, 2026
A story-driven medieval adventure game, 1348 Ex Voto follows the Italian knight errant Aeta as he searches for his “closest”, Bianca, who is kidnapped in a raid on their town. 1348 Ex Voto is inspired by real medieval history and combat, not too dissimilar to other great medieval adventures Kingdom Come: Deliverancealthough the former does not aspire to the same breadth of content and freedom.
In a recent post on Twitter 1348 Ex Voto Publisher Dear Villagers has provided an update on its previously planned Xbox port:
“While we previously announced that the game would be coming to Xbox consoles, we have the unfortunate news that this is no longer the case. As an indie release approaches, priorities are constantly being evaluated and sometimes have to change to deliver the best possible experience. With that in mind, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the Xbox version in order to focus our 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 PC, PS5 and Switch release date: January 30, 2026
Something more cheerful and immediately recognizable, Nickelodeon Splat Pack also recently shelved its planned Xbox port. Rather than being a new IP or a different spin on an existing IP, Nickelodeon Splat Pack is a bundle of classic SNES and Genesis games based on Nickelodeon properties. Like other classic game packs, Nickelodeon Splat Pack it emulates the original titles while adding small quality-of-life features like a modern save function. Splat Pack features three Nick games from the 1990s:
- GUTS
- Rock's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day
- AAAHH!!! Real monsters
Nickelodeon Splat Pack was released on January 30, 2026; the cancellation of the planned Xbox Series X|S port was announced just days before. While the comments of Dear Villagers Fr Ex Voto 1348Xbox cancellation is vague, Splat Pack The publisher Limited Run Games' explanation is mostly non-existent: a company representative told gaming outlet Gematsu Splat Pack wouldn't get the Xbox versions, though they didn't specify why.
Cleaning!
- Cleaning! PC, PS5 and Switch release date: April 15, 2026
Latest Xbox Cancellations, Cleaning! is a cute, top-down cleaning sim in spirit Power Wash Simulatoralbeit with a greater focus on whimsy and the fantastic. Players are tasked with vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing various areas, from ordinary apartments to haunted libraries.
As in the case Nickelodeon Splat Packspecific reasons Cleaning!The Xbox cancellation is unclear at this time. It's possible that the game will make its way to Microsoft consoles at some point in the future, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards at this point.
What, if anything, do these canceled Xbox ports mean?
A quick online search of these aforementioned games will return several claims from gamers who vehemently claim that these cancellations don't matter because the games themselves are independent and re-released and therefore unimportant. I understand where these people are coming from, but such arguments are completely meaningless. It's not that Xbox gamers don't get GOTY contenders. The point is that publishers, for whatever reason, don't see Xbox as a platform worth investing in at this point.
It takes time and money to develop the various ports of the game, and those costs are expected to be recouped and then some once the port is actually released. For example, if I make a PS5 game and later get 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 additional development, marketing, and distribution resources. The aforementioned cancellations suggest that publishers and developers are starting to see the Xbox Series consoles as less of a priority, as their small install base (not to mention reliance on Game Pass) could result in fewer players.
If anything, the fact that these smaller titles are moving away from Xbox could be seen as more damning for Xbox's future, as it suggests that even up-and-coming games that 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 have to wait and see how it shakes out: Xbox could get these games and more sometime later. But the immediate neglect of the Xbox is still telling.
