Shūhei Yoshida has commented on the future of Xbox. Apparently he doesn’t believe that it will remain an independent platform. Reactions from followers followed promptly.
Bigger changes are coming to Xbox. Under the leadership of new CEO Asga Sharma, the gaming division is to be turned inside out. The trigger was a decline in Game Pass subscriptions and a comparatively measly margin.
There are also reports of layoffs and at least one studio could fall victim to restructuring. While it is ultimately unclear how Xbox will be positioned in the next few years, a former PlayStation manager spoke out. Apparently he has an idea.
Shuhey Yoshida, who was responsible for the indie business at Sony Interactive Entertainment before he left, insisted on the situation surrounding Xbox to commentalbeit quite succinctly: “Xbox will be merged into Windows, and that is Microsoft’s strength…”
The whole thing was framed in a thought bubble, which means that it was simply Yoshida’s mental speculation. The former PlayStation manager did not reveal what exactly he meant.
Many followers couldn’t really understand the statement. One wrote: “Hey Shuhei, I have a question. Why do all former PlayStation execs hate Xbox?” Others remained more reserved. One commenter wanted to save the post to see later who was right in the end.
Another: “You’re probably right, Shuhei, but it would be a shame if there was less competition in the console space. More competition always benefits consumers. I don’t think it’s a good idea if only Nintendo is present on the PlayStation, as it simply creates a duopoly.”
He hopes that a solution will be found at Microsoft. “For when in human history has less competition ever been beneficial for consumers?”
Layoffs and declining hardware sales
Yoshida’s tweet was preceded by announcements and unconfirmed reports. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is planning within the Xbox division a larger number of job cuts. In addition, Xbox hardware sales have been falling for several quarters.
Yoshida’s choice of words suggests that he sees Xbox embedded in the Windows platform and the rest of Microsoft’s business in the long term. Project Helix, the next generation of Xbox, is already set to rely on Windows 11, as we know.
So what is Microsoft up to? Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis believes that Xbox is sticking with a next-gen console, but wants to avoid high prices and protect itself against rising component costs. As a possible way he told IGN an expansion of the partnership with Asus, which already resulted in the ROG Xbox Ally.
Rhys Elliott from Alinea Analytics also expects in the long term to use licensed hardware from third parties instead of devices that Microsoft finances alone. He sees the collaboration around the ROG Ally as a test run. “Windows is the actual platform,” Elliott continued. The purchased “Xbox” becomes one of several accesses to the same ecosystem.
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