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I’m not here to declare the death of the Xbox, despite Microsoft seemingly doing everything it can to make that outcome increasingly likely over the past couple of years. But is my long-term relationship with the Xbox finally coming to an end? Maybe.

I’ve been a console gamer from the Atari 2600 to my current Xbox Series X, and Xbox-first through every generation since it launched, with an exception for the Wii, which was our family console for a few wonderful years. My son’s first videogame was Shrek on the original Xbox, which was my return to consoles as an adult and a real splurge at the time. I played the hell out of Project Gotham Racing 2 and Madden 2003 & 2004, with the option to import and play your own music meaning Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe” was my touchdown song!

With the exception of the first Titanfall, I’ve never cared much about exclusive games or graphics and was never tempted by the PlayStation, even as the Xbox was clearly losing the “console wars” over the last two generations. Game Pass was great for a couple of years as I was able to try out a bunch of games I wouldn’t have otherwise taken a gamble on, but things started to change last year thanks to a few games I bought outright, most notably Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

Blame it on the Rogue Trader

Rogue Trader is almost definitely going to be my GOTY this year. My first playthrough ended up being 180 hours, and I loved every minute of it, particularly the Void Shadows DLC, which added one of my favorite characters and a side story that would have been an amazing game on its own. I’m replaying it with the newest DLC, Lex Imperialis, and ~40 hours in so far, I’m enjoying the many subtle differences driven by my main character’s background (a Fortress World Crime Lord Soldier instead of a Voidborn Noble Officer), as well as the new story and mechanics from the new DLC.

The “problem” is I’m playing Rogue Trader on a PC, via Steam, not my Xbox, which has sat mostly ignored this year as a result, used more for watching Blu-Rays than playing games.

First, I reduced my Game Pass subscription from Ultimate to Core a few months ago, partly because I have a bunch of Xbox games I actually own, including Space Marine 2, which requires Game Pass’ online multiplayer access. This month, I canceled my Game Pass subscription outright, temporarily cutting off my access to online multiplayer for the first time in… ever? I can still play most of the Xbox games I own and still care about without online multiplayer, but there aren’t any upcoming releases I’m excited about that would prioritize owning and playing them on an Xbox.

Besides Rogue Trader, I have a couple of other Warhammer games on Steam still to play (Chaos Gate —  Daemonhunters and Gladius — Relics of War), with two more coming soon that are better suited for PC than Xbox anyway: Mechanicus II and Dark Heresy. Football Manager 26 looks like it’s going to happen, and although I’ve played the last few years on PC through Game Pass Ultimate, I’ll happily buy it through Steam like I used to.

Can I be a PC-first Gamer?

PC gaming has always been limited to a specific type of game for me (tactical, strategic, and keyboard/mouse), partly because the specs for so many new PC games contribute to an ever-escalating arms race I can’t afford. Inheriting my son’s “old” gaming PC means this is the first time I can actually consider Steam being my primary gaming platform over the Xbox, though, since it’s still powerful enough to play the games I’m most interested in, and I’m rarely ever playing the newest releases.

I still have a mental obstacle that says games played with controllers are for consoles, despite owning several controllers than can easily be used with my PC, but my FPS days are in the past, while almost every good ARPG is arguably better on a PC anyway. Even though I already own Inquisitor — Martyr on Xbox and still play it now and then, I’ll be tempted to get it on Steam next time it’s on sale and see how it plays on PC as a reference point.

This may all ultimately be a moot point if Microsoft goes all-in on their shift to publishing cross-platform games and becoming a Steam-like service rather than nurturing the Xbox as a competitive dedicated platform. I can’t see a scenario where I ever become a PlayStation gamer, and as much as I love a few Nintendo franchises, the Switch didn’t click for me, so its sequel hasn’t been terribly tempting at all.

I also don’t see myself getting a Steam Deck, despite my son’s love of his because the screen is too small for the kinds of PC games I like the most. That said, if I’m going all in on Steam, games like Balatro and Slay the Spire are perfect for the Deck, although that would present a serious threat to my already challenged reading time!