Japanese developer says they don't make games for Xbox because the console is 'not even stocked in major retail stores'

Date:
Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:07:45 +0000

Description:
An indie game developer has explained why many smaller companies don't create Xbox ports.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A Japanese game developer has said that it's hard for smaller studios to justify Xbox ports of games They revealed that Xbox consoles are "not even stocked" in major stores there Microsoft's gaming brand has consistently struggled to gain a foothold in the region A developer who worked on farming action role-playing game (RPG) Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has said that some smaller companies "can't afford" to spend their precious resources creating Xbox versions of titles when there is limited demand.

The remarks come after y-koichi (who is credited as working in character and environment modelling in addition to planning assistance and writing) teased
a potential Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin sequel. In an X post that we have
machine translated, they stated that " Sakuna 2 will come out someday." This prompted a fan to ask about the possibility of an Xbox port of any potential sequel. The original game only released for PlayStation 4 , PC, and Nintendo Switch . Article continues below You may like Silent Hill: Townfall looks set to be a PS5 console exclusive Xbox and Switch 2 are absent from official listings Despite the first game's Xbox exclusivity deal, PlayStation is 'still our lead platform' says Squanch Games CEO as High on Life 2 launches this week New report claims Microsoft's 'This Is an Xbox' campaign was hated by employees

"Xbox, well... Personally, it's a console I have strong sentimental
attachment to," y_koichi replied. "But honestly, with our company's manpower we just can't afford to spread ourselves across multiple platforms like that. In Japan, it's not even stocked in major retail stores."

The comments reflect Microsoft 's struggle to gain a foothold in the region's console market, evidenced by poor sales of both the Xbox Series X and Series
S in recent years. Japanese outlet Famitsu reported that overall Xbox Series sales had dropped roughly 75% year-on-year in 2025, with barely more than 31,000 units shifted in 12 months.

In contrast, more than 1,500,000 Nintendo Switch and 879,000 PlayStation 5 consoles were sold in the same period.

This recent decline is easy to attribute to a string of price hikes, with
both systems becoming significantly more expensive in both 2023 and 2024, but Xbox consoles have been unpopular there well before these came into effect. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our
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As detailed in 2019 by CNBC , the original Xbox was disliked by local consumers thanks to its bulky design. The same report outlined that Microsoft was struggling to convince developers to create games for the platform, an issue that evidently persists today. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/gaming-industry/japanese-developer-says-they- dont-make-games-for-xbox-because-the-console-is-not-even-stocked-in-major-reta il-stores


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