Games like Avowed, Keeper, Kiln, South of Midnight, Hellblade 2, Forza Motorsport (not Horizon), and The Outer Worlds 2 didn't come within range of expectations set by Microsoft's spreadsheets, I'm told — either in terms of raw sales on external platforms or via Xbox Game Pass engagement and retention data. Other canceled projects like Perfect Dark, Everwild, and ZeniMax's "Blackbird" also represented huge amounts of investment that ultimately went nowhere.
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It was then that Microsoft was also using Activision-Blizzard profits to subsidize Xbox, but when Call of Duty had an off year ... once again, it compounded the problems for that subsidy.