The time has come to bid farewell to Kinect along with all of its few games since Xbox Series X won’t be compatible with it. This is hardly an unexpected turn of events considering that Kinect’s manufacturing was shut down three years ago.
Strictly speaking, Kinect wasn’t a massively successful enterprise for Microsoft on Xbox One – especially since it initially was an essential part of the Xbox One bundle. The accessory never left its niche status, and there’ve been just a few games worthy of players’ attention. Apart from the obvious Just Dance franchise, it’s rather hard to recall the best Kinect titles that would justify the motion device’s existence. Moreover, there was a story with cancelled Gears of War spinoff developed specifically for Kinect - a situation which didn’t help the device to escape its poor fate. Interestingly, Microsoft realized the lost potential of the accessory long before its manufacturing was stopped, which resulted in Xbox One S dropping a built-in Kinect port.
The news regarding the act of Kinect’s complete renouncement came directly from the head of Xbox Phil Spencer. There wasn’t any huge or formal announcement; instead, Spencer devoted just a single sentence to the motion tracking device, which was casually mentioned in an official blog post. According to the head of Xbox, the upcoming Series X console will feature backward compatibility only with those Xbox One titles that do not require Kinect hardware. Spencer later elaborated on that statement a bit further claiming that the accessory simply wouldn’t work on the newest console. Given that Xbox Series X has already been noticed to lack a dedicated Kinect port, there’s nothing particularly mind-blowing in Spencer’s statement.
The extensive blog post, titled “You Are the Future of Gaming,” contains a few other plans shared by Microsoft. While Kinect is left behind for good, all other Xbox accessories will remain compatible with the newest console. Series X will feature native support for Xbox Elite Controller and Xbox Adaptive Controller, which means that players won’t be forced to purchase new devices alongside the console’s premiere. On top of that, Xbox Game Pass is promised to be better than ever with all the new first-party Xbox titles joining the service’s library on Day 1.
2020 is a year of evolution for console generations, so there’s little to no need in Kinect compatibility for Xbox Series X. The motion device has never gained enough momentum to be referred to as a popular accessory. Even the Just Dance franchise, which has been the major selling point for Kinect, abandoned the device in favor of simplified smartphone controls. As for the upcoming new console, Xbox Series X won’t feature VR support, which ultimately nullifies the value of Kinect for players.
Source: Xbox Wire