Xbox's European charm offensive might just work this time | Opinion

Make no mistake, Xbox was the star of Gamescom 2024.

Well, that and Monster Hunter Wilds. But in terms of companies, there was no booth bigger or more involved than what Xbox had in Cologne.

Of course, it helps that Xbox's historical rivals – Sony and Nintendo – were entirely absent from the event. It was a surprise, to me at least, considering both console giants have pretty large games arriving on shelves in early September, and there is playable event code for both. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is playable at PAX this weekend, while Astro Bot was playable in LA back in June.

Therefore, the decision from these two to skip Gamescom was entirely strategic, and looking at how busy and excited the show floor was in Germany, I can't help but feel it was a strategic mistake.

It also meant that Xbox could waltz in unchallenged as the show's main attraction, but even if its traditional rivals were at the show, I'm not convinced they would have been able to compete.

Xbox's booth for the first time brought together games from Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft, which meant a plethora of big AAA titles on display. But there was also numerous third-party titles, indie games, photo ops, live talks and competitions throughout Xbox's giant space. It was an evolution of their Fan Fest concept, but it actually reminded me more of Nintendo Live, which is a series of excellent fan events that Nintendo runs (and Phil Spencer visited one last year).

Xbox has had strong Gamescoms before, and it has always been proactive in putting on a show that it thinks Europeans will react positively to. It has used Gamescom to announce and promote strategy and PC titles, such as Halo Wars, Age of Empires, and Flight Simulator, which are games it feels will resonate more with European players than, say, a Gears of War.

This year was no exception, and with major PC games like World of Warcraft and Diablo in the line-up (Blizzard has always had a strong presence at Gamescom), it was probably the most European-friendly slate we've ever seen from Microsoft.

"Walking around Xbox's booth at Gamescom and I saw a giant publisher that's looking decidedly more European than ever."

Beyond the games, the studios on-site were also more Europe-focused. There were 20 third-party studios on the booth that heralded from places such as the UK, Ukraine, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, and The Netherlands, promoting games including Two Point Museum, Planet Coaster 2, Star Wars Outlaws, Train Sim World, Farming Simulator, Funko Fusion, Stalker 2, Descenders Next, and The Alters.

So Xbox was back on its European charm offensive. Now, in the past this always felt like a slightly futile effort, or at least one that hasn't resulted in much long-term success.

Outside of the UK, Xbox's market share is minimal in Europe. During its presentation to the EU regulators over the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft revealed it only had a 20% market share in Europe vs PlayStation's 80%. And over the last two years, PlayStation 5 has continued to cement its position in Europe, and has even built a sizable lead in the UK. This makes it harder for Xbox when trying to secure shelf space or media coverage in these markets.

But things are different now. Xbox is no-longer about the console, or at least not all about the console. I found it fascinating that Microsoft chose to announce Indiana Jones and the Great Circle coming to PS5 on a stage watched by millions of people online. Previously, those stories have been confined to social posts or press releases, but here it was treated like news worth celebrating. And that's because it is. For the vast majority of console players in Europe, Indiana Jones was not a game that even registered with them pre-Gamescom, even if it is being made by one of their own (Sweden's MachineGames). But now it's one that's back on the radar with European fans, and another one to add to that growing list of exciting 2025 games.

We've talked about Xbox's strategy of going to where the players are, rather than expecting them to come to them, on countless occasions now. But being on the show floor at Gamescom, and seeing the 335,000 humans who walked the show floor last weekend, and you can physically see why this is such a prudent business strategy.

And during my time on Xbox's booth I, for the first time, didn't see the platform holder it's historically been, but instead the giant games publisher it's now become. And with all those simulation games, fantasy titles and unusual (often comic) indie fare, I saw an Xbox that's looking decidedly European, too.