Featured Image Credit: Microsoft
Xbox is about to experience yet another rough patch.
It’s been sunshine and rainbows ever since Asha Sharma replaced Phil Spencer as CEO earlier this year.
The price of Xbox Game Pass has been reduced, first-party exclusives have returned, and Xbox has reconfirmed its commitment to hardware with the controversial ‘This Is An Xbox’ marketing campaign being sunsetted.
Just days after a very successful Xbox Showcase, though, it’s come to light that things may have to get worse for Xbox before they get better.
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Xbox is preparing to lay off staff this coming July after it was outlined that Xbox’s spending is not compatible with the losses the company has experienced in recent years.
It’s not yet known how many developers or studios will be affected.
Strangely, Xbox has almost attempted to balance this bad news out by offering fresh intel on Project Helix, the next-gen Xbox.
The note that was issued to staff has already been released publicly. It’s where Sharma references hardware components that we get the full picture of Xbox’s plans for Project Helix.
“We are in a hardware component crisis,” she begins.
“When I first joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall.
“These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier.”
It seems pretty obvious then that Project Helix is targeting a holiday 2027 launch, so likely November or December.
That gives gamers a decent amount of time to save up, as by all accounts, the console won’t be cheap.
“Memory costs have followed a broadly similar trajectory,” Sharma continued.
“While the entire industry is facing a components crisis, we believe we have been impacted more greatly than many of our peers due to the choices we made over the last half-decade.
“We are currently unable to make as many consoles as players want to buy, and we need a new business model and partnerships for hardware as we remain committed to Helix.”
Unexpectedly, Xbox is dropping this internal note instead of riding the high of last week’s Xbox Showcase.
Many gamers agreed online that it was the highlight of the summer season, outperforming State of Play and Summer Game Fest.
That being said, it would perhaps be naive to presume that Sharma could walk in and fix all of Xbox’s woes with the magical wave of a wand.
The immediate changes, ie. Game Pass and first-party exclusives have won over the favour of fans, but Xbox has some complex financial issues to solve as well.
Now that the dust is settled and Sharma is almost six-months into her tenure, clearly she’s getting down to business whilst still attempting to tease a bright future for Xbox.
Layoffs are always a great tragedy within our industry. Let’s hope that Xbox’s future is as prosperous as can be with as many devs and studios on board as possible.
READ MORE: Xbox Drops Free Taster For Brutal FPS With Sci-Fi Twist, No Game Pass Needed
