Xbox is implementing some changes to its achievement system, though they aren’t the changes players may have been hoping for. Starting with the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005, Xbox became the first platform to launch a console-wide achievement service accessible across multiple games from both first-party developers and third-party publishers. By completing levels, tasks, and challenges across different games, players can earn Gamerscore. Gamerscore is a point system that increases upon completing games and serves as a showcase of a player’s skill across various titles.
The success of Xbox achievements led to other publishers and entities adding their own approximation of gaming achievements to their platforms. Valve initially followed suit by adding achievements to Steam, allowing PC and Mac users to earn points for completing games, and Sony implemented Trophies, its own achievement system, on the PlayStation 3 starting in 2008. Microsoft and Sony’s achievement systems would continue to be featured on future consoles, and even outside of the console space, websites such as RetroAchievements were established that retroactively added achievements to games on older platforms that featured no such systems.
TrueAchievements reports that hundreds of low-effort Xbox releases last year were built primarily to...
