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Amid increasing speculation about the future of Xbox, its exclusives, and even its status as a hardware manufacturer, Phil Spencer reportedly told employees last week that it has no plans to stop making consoles.
Reporter Shannon Liao said in her weekly Substack industry newsletter that Spencer moved to reassure staff during an all-hands meeting on Tuesday.
“The company held an internal Tuesday townhall where Spencer told employees that there were no plans to stop making consoles, and that Xboxes would continue to be part of a strategy that involves multiple kinds of devices,” Liao reported. Microsoft has yet to comment.
Liao’s report has come at a time of concern for the Xbox brand, with various articles indicating recent first-party games are going multiplatform and Microsoft is ready to ditch physical media completely. Some have even wondered whether Microsoft will exit the console business, but Liao’s report suggests Xbox is here to stay, at least in the short term.
Last year’s Xbox v FTC trial leak revealed Microsoft’s plan to release a mid-generation Xbox Series console refresh in 2024 as well as a hybrid next-gen Xbox slated for 2028. At the time, Spencer responded to say those plans were out of date.
However, Spencer is set to host a "business update event" sometime this week. "We're listening and we hear you," Spencer wrote on his X/Twitter account. "We've been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned."
Last month, Microsoft confirmed plans to cut 1,900 staff from its video game workforce. Staff were let go from across Xbox, the recently purchased Activision Blizzard, as well as Bethesda owner ZeniMax.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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