Xbox users concerned after Microsoft veteran claims ‘hardware is dead’

One Xbox veteran isn’t too keen on Microsoft’s future hardware plans, even going as far as to state that “Xbox hardware is dead” in a recent statement.

Thank you in advance to Video Game Chronicle’s Andy Robinson for their original article on this!

Microsoft has been making some weird moves lately. They recently announced two different pieces of Xbox hardware: the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally handheld and the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition.

It’s got people scratching their heads, because these announcements seem to imply that Microsoft is shifting their focus towards partnerships with other manufacturers.

Of course, they have also recently announced that a new, next-gen Xbox home console is also in the works too, but this shift has many questioning what their plans are for the Xbox brand down the line.

Well, one ex-Microsoft veteran, Laura Fryer, isn’t feeling too keen about their new direction either.

Fryer used to be an executive producer for Microsoft Games Studios back in the late 90s to the mid-2010s, and she worked on well-known Xbox titles such as Gears of War 2, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Too Human.

In a recent video on Fryer’s YouTube channel titled “The Future of Xbox”, she didn’t hold back on her thoughts regarding Microsoft’s recent announcements.

“Obviously, as one of the founding members of the Xbox team, I’m not pleased with where things are today. I don’t love watching all of the value that I helped create slowly get eroded away,” Fryer stated.

“I’m sad because from my perspective, it looks like Xbox has no desire or literally can’t ship hardware anymore… Personally, I think Xbox hardware is dead. The plan appears to be to just drive everybody to Game Pass.”

“But what is the long-term plan? Where are the new hits? What will make people care about the Xbox 25 years from now? I was excited to see Clockwork Revolution in the showcase, but will something like that be enough? Do they have more?”

Personally, I kinda think Fryer is onto something here, and I highly recommend that you give her full video a watch.

Obviously she knows what she’s talking about, given that she helped ship some of Xbox’s most popular titles, but she makes a good point about the Xbox brand’s future down the line. It does seem like Microsoft is operating in the short term at the moment.