I’d be surprised if Xbox is a thing in 5 years after this news. The way things are right now Microsoft can’t make an Xbox console that will succeed by any metric. Maybe it’ll stick around as software.

Phil had to salvage the brand after the fucking disaster that was Xbox One and I don’t think he was terrible but it clearly wasn’t working out.

Replacing him with the head of Core AI is a fucking joke though.

With the cost of hardware skyrocketing and Sony closing studios gaming is in a really dark place right now.

Crazy how Microsoft spent the GDP of a decent sized country on acquiring game developers to bolster Xbox, then gave that strategy about 25 months to actually work before deciding "nevermind, pivot to AI then sell it for parts."

Literal definition of Monkey's Paw:

All the Phil Spencer haters get to rejoice that he is gone. But now he is replaced by a woman who has only ever had AI related positions at Microsoft, and previously worked at Meta.

Even her letter to employees sounds AI generated.

Considering how the person replacing Spencer has been known from leading Microsoft's AI division and isn't much of a gamer, this doesn't make Xbox's future rosy. Dwindling sales, large layoffs and RAM prices skyrocketing... I highly doubt they can build a competitive console.

I would leave a flaming wreck too.

Spencer leaving Microsoft: Yay!

Spencer being replaced by a Marketing Exec who leads an AI division: FUUUUUUCK

I'll not sure Spencer had been doing a great job, but this feels incredibly abrupt and makes me wonder if Xbox's next generation hardware plans are cancelled in favor of a software and AI approach. The new CEO being an AI suit makes me think they want to take shit it a very different direction.

Phil was probably the last thing keep Xbox from fully imploding. You could tell he was an actual gamer that cared about the Xbox as a games console and not whatever Frankenstein they are going to turn it into.

It’s sad but Xbox had a really good run. Xbox won’t exist beyond the next console generation, it may not even make it that far before it just becomes gamepass.

I was going to say "good riddance", but considering that his replacement is a former AI exec... Lol.

To be fair, I don't envy anyone who is put in charge of the mess that is Xbox right now.

Microsoft needs to have a sit down with Sega on how to become a decent 3rd party developer.

I wonder how much of this is the big bet that they placed on buying up Activision Blizzard (plus other studios) and not being able to show enough growth on Gamepass?

And now of course, with skyrocketing hardware costs, and the ripple effects of tariffs before that, even putting MS’s preoccupation with cloud services and AI to one side, the console business probably isn’t the money spinner it once was.

After Mattrick, they probably shouldn't have promoted internally from the executive class that went along with the pivot of internal studios to kinect and home theater media center. They needed leadership that knew how to deliver quality games on time. Saw Sony hit its stride mid-PS3 era with the advent of the AAA narrative action adventure game and could never adjust to that. I know American company, but maybe they should have looked to Sega, Capcom, Koei Tecmo to lead Xbox game studios and someone else to lead hardware and services. Xbox was at its best when it was paying for timed exclusives in the 360 era from third parties and funding 2nd party exclusives. Their internal studio production has been weak for like 20 years. Halo, Gears, Forza Motorsport, Fable has fallen to all of them in the doldrums and Forza Horizon being their only high tier Xbox associated IP now. I'd take someone from Square Enix today to lead Xbox studios today. The last decade they've churned out games even though mostly not AAA, they're mostly solid games and satisfy a lot of niches like Dragon Quest Monsters. Square Enix games are oddly experimental and creative for such a large publisher. Something Xbox sorely lacks. Master Chief is barely surviving as a console mascot and that's practically all they have at this point. Conker and Banjo are irrelevant with how they've handled those IPs

They're gonna fuck up Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, aren't they? I was cautiosly optimistic about those two under Phil, but I'm pretty sure they're doomed now

PlayStation outlives yet another competitor.

A simultaneous retirement/resignation says to me that the two of them were asked to do something very stupid or very unethical. And they've stomached a lot of unethical lately.

How sad for Obsidian Entertainment to go the same way as Black Isle Studios... but they probably will when the Xbox division completely fails.

Makes sense, Xbox is barely a thing anymore

So....is Xbox done?

His name was Ozymandias, King of Kings.

If Spencer couldn't keep the Xbox machine alive, an outsider who's not a gamer is gonna ruin it more so than it is

Good. Phil Spencer may have been a better lead for Xbox during the OG and 360 years, but the XB1 was a joke and the Series X, while pretty good, could have been better. And doubling the price of GamePass Ultimate made it a non-starter for a lot of people. Half the price of a game every month and I don't get to keep any of them? Huh? At $15 it was a no-brainer; at $30, it's a non-starter. And they sold the Series S on GamePass.

Sarah Bond always annoyed me. Seemed like she was always badly trying to put out a fire. I don't know where she was before, I'm sure she earned her spot somehow, but she always seemed like the "bad cop" in most situations.

As for PlayStation, they're run by bankers and lawyers, not gamers. I liked the first two PlayStations. PS3 was definitely better than XB1 (even though XB1's contemporary was the PS4... PS3 was still better). I haven't had a PlayStation since PS3, but I don't like how Sony does business. That said, they're Japanese, and they make/own a lot of the anime and music I listen to (I listen to a lot of Japanese music). But, that's like saying Samsung phones are good because their refrigerators are. It's a fallacy at best, but it's mostly bullshit. PlayStation is very much its own thing at Sony. And I don't agree with most of their decisions.

Steam looks like the least crappy option right now, with the Switch 2 being fully last-generation and costing like $500... and the games being $80 each... Screw that. (Switch 1 is still cool for what it is, the 2.5D Zelda games, and Animal Crossing. If you're into cosy/chill games.) I kinda want a Steam Machine but I won't pay $1000 for one. I think people thinking it will be $500-600 are huffing some serious hopium. $700 feels like a compromise between what gamers want it to be ($500) and what it probably will be ($1000). They want Valve to take a loss on each unit because they kiss up to Valve on social media, but Valve has already said they are not going to sell it at a loss. So all I'm saying is... get ready for a four-digit price tag. Especially if it's gonna run modern games at good framerates and resolutions. The one thing I can say for the "it'll be $500" guys is, the M4 Mac mini is $500 and that can run Cyberpunk. And it's a whole Mac, so you know it's a good computer. Thing is, most game devs aren't friendly to people who actually put their money where their mouth is and actually kick Microslop to the curb. They'll support Linux hoping you'll just go back to Windows on the same machine, but you buy a computer that (AFAIK, until Windows for ARM comes out) can't run Windows... then it's FU in particular. (And honestly, no one really buys a Mac for gaming. They're just cool computers that aren't PCs.)

This ain't it!

Chief