Veteran Microsoft Executive Claims ‘Xbox Hardware is Dead’

The Microsoft is exiting the hardware business to focus on what it does best: software production and distribution. This is the vision of Laura Fryer, an executive producer who was part of the original Xbox team and worked at Microsoft Game Studios for over two decades. Today a YouTube content creator, Fryer shared a video where she discussed the future of Xbox and, in her view, how Microsoft is gradually abandoning hardware to focus on software and distribution. “In my perspective, the Xbox strategy has been chaotic,” says Fryer in the video, analyzing Microsoft’s partnership with Asus, which tasked the latter with creating an Xbox portable. “Obviously, as one of the founding members of the Xbox team, I’m not happy with where things are today. I don’t enjoy watching all the value I helped create slowly being eroded,” she adds. “I don’t see any reason why anyone would buy this piece of hardware,” Fryer argues, discussing the newly-created “Xbox-branded version” of the Asus Rog Ally X handheld. “The plan appears to be to bring everyone to Game Pass. And let’s be clear, it has a lot of value. That might be why they decided to charge $80 for The Outer Worlds 2,” Fryer continued. She questions whether this strategy can bear fruit in the short term and ponders Microsoft’s ability to refresh its catalogue and attract new players: “But what about the long-term plan? Where are the new successes? What will make people still care about Xbox in 25 years?” she wondered.

Since last year, Microsoft has intensified a multi-platform marketing strategy that clearly undervalues Xbox hardware while informing that devices such as a Smart TV, tablet, or smartphone can also “be an Xbox” as they can run the system’s cloud games. Coincidentally or not, Xbox Series X|S hardware has disappeared from retail in several regions, including Brazil, showing that Microsoft no longer prioritizes hardware sales flow.