Xbox is probably done with hardware according to Laura Fryer, one of the original founding members of the Xbox team. In a recent reflective video discussing her experiences launching the original Xbox and the Xbox 360, she described the company’s current direction as “chaotic” and said that partnerships like the ROG Ally are not viable.
Fryer raised red flags over the handheld device that he claims does not bring sufficient value for consumers to have. Having been involved in the creation of Xbox she said it hurt to see the thing she helped build slowly lose its value over time.
Fryer thinks Xbox doesn’t want to or can’t create any more hardware. She sees devices such as the ROG Ally as signs of a slow exit from the hardware market entirely and concludes Xbox hardware’s end is effectively here.
Game Pass Focus and Future Strategy Questions
Fryer said that the Xbox was geared towards pushing consumers towards Game Pass as he understands that there is value in it. Her speculation was that this strategy could explain the R80 price of Outer Worlds 2. However, she got curious about the long-term vision of the company, especially with the 25th anniversary of Xbox coming closer.
Even though Fryer worries it would not work, it might. Xbox has a very big portfolio, including Xbox sleeping oblivion remastered. She mentioned that Xbox could keep outsourcing work to other companies, and bring in cash by re-releasing older games from when Xbox was great at creating games.
Xbox’s long-term strategy is where new hit titles and what will get consumers want to care for Xbox for the next 25 years, these were the opening questions raised by Fryer.
Impending Layoffs and Next Generation Plans
Microsoft said to lay off huge number of staff from its gaming division soon. The managers were told about the Xbox layoffs and cuts across the firm. Moreover, the sales teams are likely to be impacted greatly.
We’re expecting these cuts for the gaming division specifically ahead of the launch of the next console generation from Microsoft. Microsoft has partnered with AMD to bring their future Xbox consoles to life, which includes first-party devices, but no information on when it would be released is shared.
Fryer rounded out her comments by noting Xbox is about to turn 25 years old next year, so expect big news. She was hopeful that maybe next year will give us clarity on the recent decisions we’ve seen. We’ll have to wait and see how Xbox acts.