In a recent video, former Microsoft Game Studios executive producer Laura Fryer stated that she believes Microsoft is forgoing Xbox hardware. She believes the company has “no desire” to continue making hardware especially given its recent push for the “Xbox Anywhere” branding with Xbox Game Pass. This is also following the recent announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally. She believes that the company is leaving hardware innovation to other partners like Asus and that “Xbox hardware is dead”. She also noted how disappointed she is in Microsoft for their current strategy.
“They are betting the entire business on Game Pass and leaving the hardware innovation to their partners at Asus,” said Fryer. “This wasn’t surprising. Hardware is expensive to make. It’s much easier to slap an Xbox sticker on an existing piece of hardware and call it a day. It requires very little effort in comparison. And if you don’t care about console sales or exclusive games any more, why bother innovating in hardware?”
“Personally, I think Xbox hardware is dead,” said Fryer. “The plan appears to be to just drive everybody to Game Pass. And let’s be clear, it has a lot of value. I’m thinking that might be why they decided to charge $80 for Outer Worlds 2… And here’s the thing, maybe it will work.”
“Obviously, as one of the founding members of the Xbox team, I’m not pleased with where things are today,” she continued. “I don’t love watching all of the value that I helped create slowly get eroded away. I’m sad because from my perspective, it looks like Xbox has no desire or literally can’t ship hardware anymore. So this [ROG Ally] partnership is about a slow exit from the hardware business completely.”
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