It's No Longer Xbox, but Microsoft Gaming Report Says

In an interview with former Xbox employees, IGN is reporting Xbox news today that says it's no longer Xbox, but Microsoft Gaming. That's according to two former Xbox employees who've seen all this unfold before their eyes. This also comes after a disastrous interview that Sarah Bond gave with Bloomberg that did not go over well.
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Source: www.ign.com/articles/phil-spe...
• Xbox President Bond on...
Previously: After the closure of several studios and cost-cutting measure have been implemented the unfortunate Xbox news today is that more layoffs and cost-cutting is to come. That's per Jason Schrier over at Bloomberg who is saying that Matt Botty and other leaders at Xbox made comments at a meeting that seem to indicate tough times ahead. Tom Warren at the Verge is also reporting that Xbox wants smaller games with prestige and awards days after shuttering Tango Gameworks who made Hi Fi Rush. More Xbox Layoffs. More of a AAA focus. Fewer Risks. That's that it seems like the Xbox strategy will be. Along with a potential Xbox Game Pass price increase.
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[@DestinL]

Do you like the idea of Microsoft being in charge vs the Xbox team? Let me know and please consider subscribing! kzbin.info Become a Member here kzbin.info/door/gUOWrjLEhmHE9tqYtoeS_gjoin/join`11`

[@frankkent5567]

It makes no difference. The games aren’t good enough either way.

[@stevenh.2459]

No, but it’s not like the Xbox team did a great job either.

[@carlthomas99]

Microsoft was never in it for the games, the A.I. is what the target was. Bulls-eye.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

Xbixnhas always been under Microsoft Gaming. Phil is the founder and CEO of that division. Xbox is under Microsoft Gaming. I fail to see the issue or claim here.

[@BTMaverick707]

They lost their message and now seem Schizophrenic

[@markforthefallen]

If you watch the Xbox documentary ... the history of xbox is talented people create something great and then the suits come a fuck it up. Wash, rinse, repeat. This is just another chapter.

[@sethross7217]

Exactly. Only this time the suits are winning. If you look back, Xbox was ran by people who had a desire for the console and were somewhat rebellious against Microsoft. These people now are just corporate yes men and women.

[@Magnisus]

Right on the spot.

not only xbox. Its unfortunately everywhere with big companies.

[@natedawg3654]

@@sethross7217 actually the Xbox (mis)managment has been an utter failure Phil's entire tenure. Microsoft's deep pockets are the only reason they still exist. Phil's Xbox would be long dead if it was on it's own.

[@countzero1136]

Suits always ruin everything :( These days gamers are much better off playing indie titles on PC. The console wars are over - the PC has won

[@Cyno7]

Microsoft running Xbox and the studios is the equivalent of companies being run by private equity firms- they don't understand the subtle details of the industry but analyse everything through the lens of return, balance sheet and other financial metrics.

[@urazz7739]

Funny thing is that Tango is a good reputation builder if they continued to make games like Hi-Fi Rush. They may not make the most money, but they sure as help ensure you have a good reputation.

[@yusufbakhtiar632]

Xbox and PlayStation are competing on who can make worse decisions

[@droid4d279]

So far Xbox is in the lead but Sony waiting to one up them

[@Cshizzle94]

Sony definitely making stupid decisions but it's small fries compared to this. Closing Tango will go down as a historic turning point. Xbox is dead. Microsoft Games may end up outlasting Sony one day far into the future tho.

[@MrEffectfilms]

Whatever you think of PlayStation they're saints compared to Microsoft right now.

[@superburrito9797]

​@@Cshizzle94Literally Sony shut down London Studios, and let 900 employees go. Stop the hylerbole

[@mygetawayart]

the new console war: the biggest loser

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

They didn't have to shut down Tango, They could have sold it off

[@brokeashellgaming999]

Unfortunately it's more profitable for them to use it as a tax write off and hold on to all the ip

[@REXae86]

They could’ve done so many things differently…. Tango didn’t even have a chance

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

Tell me you don't know about business without telling me.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

​@@REXae865 games in 13 years. They had a chance.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

​@@brokeashellgaming999studios being shut down aren't going to be written off in taxes.

[@SirS2pendous]

Exactly what I’ve been thinking. It seems like after writing the check for Activision, Microsoft leadership is trying to dictate Xbox’s business. Phil and Sarah are just the fall guys. But the constant changing of their messaging is doing some long-term damage to their brand.

[@SKOTxFREE]

You know when people were saying Xbox reminded them of Sega I disagreed BUT now they really do remind me of Sega in that the real reason for Sega’s downfall wasn’t Saturn per se but more of the jealously and meddling of Sega Japan over Sega America. The same I suspect is happening now within MS over Xbox.

[@jimmymac2292]

Or maybe Zenimax just decided to pad their portfolio with projects they could not sustain to entice buyers. "As reported by Bloomberg, head of ZeniMax Jill Braff reportedly said during a town hall meeting on Wednesday it was hard to support the studios globally "with a lean central team" and various projects in the works. "I think we were about to topple over,"Braff said."

[@kizzgizz]

​@jimmymac2292 tbh both things could be true, I've heard myself that redfall was a project made purely to help sell zenimax as a whole

[@FarmerJimLR]

Did they ever have a chance to trade those studios to Nintendo for access to Nintendo's back catalog? Thus allowing both to undercut Steam?

[@urazz7739]

To be fair, I thought the Activision/Blizzard deal was a bad one in terms of price at least (should've been like half the price in my opinion). Activision/Blizzard was in bad shape then so definitely wasn't worth the price Xbox paid for it. King was the only thing keeping Activision/Blizzard afloat in my opinion.

[@Playerz714]

I'm still baffled how 343 is still running over these when it's killed their biggest IP

[@wkadalie]

How old is Halo.... maybe it's time to retire it. Or at least give us time to miss it.

[@statesman6379]

Halo Infinite is the most fun shooter in gaming.

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

They already cleaned house and halo mp is actually good now.

[@thatoneswarmdrone6409]

@@statesman6379 Nope. Lmao

[@quentinb734]

@@statesman6379not at all wtf 😂

[@focabox5594]

Some people were like "Oh, poor Sarah was thrown to the wolves". Lol??? I mean, she is the President of Xbox and, as such, is making Tons of money. I do not pity her at all. She is paid to do stuff like that

[@Roger-LikestoCook]

I think you're harbouring more than a little ill will towards Sarah for reasons more than Sarah is "making Tons of money." I don't feel sorry for her either, she's trained for this all her life, this is what she wants. I think now she has maybe reached her limit in rising through the ranks and knows she's now at a dead end. Thus, she's feeling it, she wants more out of her career, she's a career woman. People can feel sorry for her on many levels and just because she earns "Tons of money," doesn't mean they can't legitimately feel sorry for her, that things aren't going Sarah's way and that they know Sarah can see the writing on the wall. Sarah may have to look to another company to go higher up the corporate ladder, cause she's a corpo at heart.

[@Roger-LikestoCook]

@@RangerZero45 True, they love you all year round and tell you how much you mean to the company. But when it comes to negotiating a pay rise, suddenly you have a million faults, and they will tell you to look to another company if you want the pay you want. But once you come to a mutual agreement on your next wage package, they want to shake hands and tell you how happy you're staying with the company and the place is better off with you. hahahaha It's all a joke, just a f*cken joke.

[@SkywardKing]

Still sucks if the decisions aren't made by her for her to have to hold the L

[@SpartasEdge]

​@RangerZero45 Really? People seem to think she did a really poor job at deflecting that didn't look good at all "But hey, let's talk about Fallout, that's doung well" Please...Lol

[@justinlacek1481]

That 100% should've been Phil. Phil Spencer IS Xbox.

[@SKizzleAXE]

Matt Booty: We need more games like Hi-Fi Rush Xbox: "keep your booty out of this, we don't need it" 😂💀

[@crsmntmr392]

cause japanese people are not diverse enough

[@blackwhite2361]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@WizR74]

Ayo

[@AV-xm5ln]

Omg it's the biggest C.B. on KZbin!

[@northernlightz5319]

No Diddy!

[@joeldavis3666]

You’re the guy who was glazing the Activision blizzard merger too smh.

[@UltimateGattai]

Maybe this is the chickens finally coming home to roost.

[@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx]

Exactly, and clearly has a huge bias against PlayStation. Look at what’s happening now and his reactions

[@RoseyRK]

@@UltimateGattai I love chickens 😅 I hate Xbox 😅

[@alpha-boss]

Did Microsoft really expect to see a return of $80 billion that fast? It takes time. I'm beginning to wonder what the heck is Microsoft is doing in the gaming space?

[@sakuragi1062]

Your expectations was different than the suits they expect more because they’re the one who spent the money is just that xbox as a brand is a disappointment and gamepass isn’t growing

[@alpha-boss]

@@sakuragi1062 I know that but they sould have know that its obviously going to take a while to get that money back. It's going to take years not months for that to happen. You don't have to be a business major to know that

[@sakuragi1062]

@@alpha-boss They put too much faith on xbox/pc to carry the gamepass but it isn’t enough thats why they putting games on PlayStation and Nintendo platform because Gamepass isn’t gonna give them 80 billion right away gamepass isn’t growing and they paying developers to put their games on gamepass and spend billions for buying publishers but no one buys xbox and Gamepass subscribers isn’t growing as they like.If you spend 70 billion for acquisition you expect a return but they losing money in the long run. Microsoft have no choice but to shut down studios that isn’t making enough money and be a 3rd party publisher

[@alpha-boss]

@sakuragi1062 Microsoft got themselves in this situation but putting games on PC and making game pass. They should have just stuck to the old strategy and that securing exclusivity for their platform..It's that simple

[@Alien_isolationist]

All they had to do was put CoD on gamepass, tell Tango to begin production on Evil Within 3, tell Machine to start on Wolfenstien 3, & tell Bethesda to start on Fallout 5, in time to release with their show, & start Gears 6 4 years ago & Xbox would have been looking very different today.

[@EnteR_ChazmaN]

It's a shame to admit but you really can't trust anything coming from Bond or even Phil's mouth. It's not really their fault but you're reminded there are executives and investors that over rule even them. I truly feel like this a Microsoft thing, not an Xbox thing... sad.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

Investors do not overrule them. Do you even know what investors are?

[@farhanryan2895]

@@TheWholeGrainBread_Realwhile they don’t directly overrule them indirectly they do. What you’re saying is basically “if you bit the hand that feeds you there won’t be consequences”

[@leejohnson197733]

Listen to them both talk, it's the same language and bullshit, always lies and word salads, they promise things use buzz words and deliver poor quality over and over, on paper it seems impossible for xb to not be a success

[@Kimera92]

​@@TheWholeGrainBread_Real Nobody rules alone these days in modern comporations. Especially big ones like Microsoft. There are a shit ton of people whose decisions and opinions carry far more weight than Phil Spencer's. Both Sarah and Phil report to Satya Nadella, who, in turn, answers to Microsoft's board of directors. And who do the board of directors prioritize pleasing? You guessed it... the shareholders, also known as investors. "Do you even know what investors are?"

[@mitchjames9350]

Or even Satya Nadella let alone the board etc, a new CEO can come in and undo and contradict what a previous said and did etc.

[@Mrjonnyjonjon123]

Call of Duty isnt worth all of this

[@tygeta9851]

Eh. 90% of their current profits came from the revenue CoD brought in mostly.

[@linkvagar2336]

From a gamers perspective maybe. From Microsofts perspective, it is.

[@overlordfluffy]

nah but candy crush is

[@xers6704]

cod is their only profitable game.

[@ImViruxx]

You are not even getting cod as exclusives but the franchise is just goes to game pass but it’ll remain multiplat.

[@Caio_Arq]

So we are getting Games for Windows Live all over again...

[@brainwashedburgerworshipper]

with how shit the xbox app is on windows yes

[@redeyejedi4400]

Definitely seems like Phil has been sidelined wouldn't be surprised if he retired.

[@superbadisfunmy]

He needs to. Xbox hasn't been a success under him.

[@mxxicvnphxnk]

Microsoft needs to leave xbox alone and let them do their job.

[@droid4d279]

Microsoft killed what they created they said no we run the show now

[@basementality4924]

They just spent like 56 billion dollars and are still losing money. If they wanted to be left alone they should have kept it low key until they turned things around. Phil spent to much of daddy’s money on the lemonade stand and now he’s looking for a return on investment. Also he’s been left alone for TEN YEARS! He still hasn’t cultivated an adequate lineup of first party games in that time. His time is up and he should step down.

[@af6456]

Microsoft needs to sell off XBOX. Video gaming is entertainment that uses tech. It's not a tech company that does gaming. I've never owned a XBOX. I've been PlayStation since PS1. I do not like this. No console warring here. This sucks for all gamers. I feel bad for XBOX and it's because of Microsoft.

[@dujo91147]

Yeah and TAKE ALL OF THEIR MONEY WITH THEM HUH!!

[@zaltmanbleroze]

@@basementality4924 68 or so on ABK and about 7 for Bethesda, a grand total of 75 billion.

[@newsoul.9]

This is more of the doing of MS... Xbox themselves view high five rush successful but not MS...and at the end of the day...u gotta lisent to your parent company that owns you

[@SKOTxFREE]

You’re right but at this point there is no difference between Xbox and Microsoft gaming because they are obviously pulling the strings.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

​@@SKOTxFREEXbox was always ran by Microsoft Gaming. Phil is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Gaming....

[@newsoul.9]

@TheWholeGrainBread_Real Yes, but not the CEO of MS just the section of "gaming" and all sections need to lisent to the [TOP] CEO of the company

[@mmmidnight1812]

​@TheWholeGrainBread_Real yes but they weren't involved for years

[@superbadisfunmy]

Of course because phil has failed.

[@manakakisaragi9121]

But, but, but Destin told me that these acquisitions were going to be GREAT for the industry, the studios and the workers. He told me that workers and unions we SUPER in favor of it, because I mean... labor is always super fond of things like consolidation processes. Destin also told me that regulators trying to stop this were evil for stopping competition and were just being corrupt bureaucrats getting in the way of the economic freedoms of our beloved and benevolent corporations. But at least he's owning up to how wrong he was... right???

[@mitchjames9350]

lol alot of people on this comment section said the same as well as other Xbox simp channels. I was weary as it is Microsoft and they have a track record.

[@SWOTHDRA]

Lol so true 🤣🤣🤡🤡. He also said gamepass was turning a profit. He also said xbox was outselling playstation 🤣🤡🤡🤡

[@sandman8920]

It’s all very laughable. Cringy. 😅😂

[@RyanUnicorn-wz9xx]

End hé also said microsoft gonna buy take 2 😂

[@PhantomPain74]

This ist the shareholder Chanel of Xbox 😅

[@maccame6099]

When you spend 80 billion on publisher's what do you expect Spencer hasn't got a say in this.

[@countzero1136]

Exactly - this is a carbon copy of what happened to Disney when they paid around $72 Billion (with a B) for Fox - there was no way that Fox was ever worth close to that amount, and more importantly, no way that Disney are ever going to make that money back in the forseeable future

[@RagingUtai]

wasn't it spencer's idea to buy activision?

[@Vell1981]

Yeah Sarah and Phil should pull the Golden Parachute and leave the sinking ship because if Satya is pulling the strings now it will get worse. Put all the Old CoD Games on GP no one buys them anymore anyway they even fixed the Servers for them wtf?

[@superbadisfunmy]

Worse 😂 it's been worse. Both em them haven't make Xbox a success since they started. Why do y'all act brand new to this

[@toddhoward34]

IMHO. Xbox in Microsoft was like a punk. That was a place where people had passion for thing they do. Freedom, art, culture. These words are what Xbox is. But 'Microsoft Gaming' is a thing about making money by selling 'product'. It's so corporate p.s. In the documentary about Xbox, they say that they didn't want the word 'Microsoft' to be in the name of they console, so people wouldn't associate gaming with suits. And now it's Microsoft Gaming. Bruh

[@heroicgangster9981]

I doubt Microsoft would even want to sell product, because selling product means making product and the shareholders don't want that if it doesn't lead to big increases.

[@isturbo1984]

Xbox hasnt had the pleasure of "freedom, art and culture" for a very long time.

[@somethingsburning774]

@@isturbo1984 None of us know that

[@AlgaeEater09]

Does microsoft gaming not remember the failure that is, "WINDOWS PHONE"? It sounds way to corporate. Why the hell would I want to buy anything from, "Microsoft gaming".

[@BlueCollaredGrit]

Give us Elder Scrolls 6 TODD! With 16x the detail

[@rafaelpozo9962]

Phil saved xbox from closing down just for Microsoft kill it at the end

[@urazz7739]

To be fair, Microsoft probably didn't like the Activision/Blizzard deal, at least the price for it. I wouldn't be surprised if this put Phil Spencer in the doghouse with the Microsoft execs.

[@rafaelpozo9962]

@@urazz7739 the actiblizz deal is giving Microsoft a lot of money besides they approved the deal in the first place, the problem is that Satya nadela wants to take control of xbox and their studios, and the worst part is that they have all the winning cards but they don't know how to use it

[@mitchjames9350]

@@urazz7739 the top brass could of vetoed it but they allowed it.

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

Lol how is Microsoft killing xbox? They actually have exclusives this year.

[@mitchjames9350]

@@dcmastermindfirst9418 that means nothing, their previous exclusives where mediocre. Microsoft has no clue anymore on how to make games.

[@AlgaeEater09]

Microsoft Gaming? Does MICROSOFT not remember the failure of WINDOWS PHONE? Microsoft gaming sounds WAY to corporate. Why the hell would I want to buy anything from.. Microsoft gaming. Xbox sounded like a fun game brand.. and it was in 2005-2013.

[@RenZoneNL]

Its not literal. Seems like you only read the title and drew the conclusion theyre changing the company name lol

[@digitalXP13]

3 things I said from the start after Bethesda purchase; if you love those IP's you don't want Microsoft to own them. 2. They can't manage the studios they have how will acquiring more, be manageable? 3. They will kill studios just like they have in the past. It's strange Ceo's get worked up about continual growth, when if you look at the stock market it might dip for a year or 2 but over 20 years, 30 years the line always goes up! Provide quality and growth moves up over time!

[@NealFowler]

Sarah is in an impossible situation. This is not an Xbox decision. It’s a Microsoft one.

[@DallasRabot]

Yeah but because of their mismanagement Microsoft leadership has stepped in. It is obvious that a 80 billion dollars of acquisitions, and shriking market share would lead to this.

[@dongarippo7279]

You're shutting down four studios, one which was successful? She just answered with a whole lot of nothing. Can't she just say that it's unfortunate and that some and all decisions are made in a team or that it's out of her hands or that she doesn't want to comment on it? Something that at least provides an answer to the related question?

[@whysoserious4464]

​@@dongarippo7279 not without the risk of losing her job or the risk of calling someone out

[@thermalmeltdown8953]

Then what about the Cloud and PC gaming? All of the focus is on cloud gaming now. They know that the future of gaming is cloud based game streaming on all platforms, so they could care less about consoles now. They just want to make sure that they have a jump on game streaming, that will keep them in control like they are. Playstation is just a big box that is used to play Microsoft games now.

[@RH1812]

The issue about management being interviewed is the strength to be honest. Management speak is easy. I imagine she was told to stick to the party line. I wonder when she will choose to leave?

[@infiniterift]

GROWTH GROWTH GROWTH NUMBERS NUMBERS NUMBERS

[@chakazulu7927]

They're going full 3rd party, Sega went the same way. Can't sell games, consoles, or service. Studios closing... cmon guys.

[@frankkent5567]

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but an Xbox division by any other name would smell as foul.

[@KnightSoulsG]

Surface Gaming 2025

[@DestinL]

:/

[@nightwingnl5354]

thanks I hate it

[@KnightSoulsG]

@nightwingnl5354 Buckle up this is just the beginning

[@LeftyPencil]

The Legion Go at home is a Surface Go + Joycons + Velcro copium Trust

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

Surface will be dead soon.

[@chrisgarciart]

My guess is Phil was banking on getting that activision blizzard content onto gamepass asap after locking in the purchase for the push they needed, but the long dragged out court case and lack of in house content during 2022? (Idr) really threw a wrench in his plans. Now we’re seeing the effect of it. But again, just what it looks like to me 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@PiomiStrawhat]

I already knew that was the case. Based off from what she said, I figured it was Microsoft caring less about the gaming industry and more about the overall base company.

[@jonathangersamYT]

This seems like when konami lost their mind, fired kojima before the launch of MGS5, and pivoted hard into their pachinko and gambling stuff. Konami = MS, Kojima = mikami/tango, pachinko gambling = live service lootbox black hole.

[@darkguardian1314]

XBOX 360 retires from XBOX Live July 29. Do any updates on old games when you can before it’s kicked off the network.

[@DV-ou1yu]

Wait, but aren't updates still available after that or not?

[@marshallhatcher7787]

Their messaging is all over the place and inconsistant even over the SAME ANNOUNCEMENT (Xbox store). MS has dumped so much money into XBox via the acquisitions, it now appears that they no longer have the autonomy they once had before. Now the Eye of Sauron had locked in on them. I hope they figure it out, but I think a lot more pain is coming.

[@Blballerboy]

Destin do you think it would’ve looked better if they had just cancelled the interview all together or better to face the music?

[@origamipapercut4682]

It’s not the last Destin. Unfortunately.

[@TelgonicBrute2]

These studios got closed down because they were in pre production of their next games. I think that’s the only reason. Phil got told to cut x many jobs and picked the studios that aren’t in active development.

[@somethingsburning774]

That's the jist I'm getting too & I always that out came down from the top -Satya

[@Auth-DanielRyan]

I’ve been on Xbox since the duke days. However, this morning I was pricing out Steam Decks. I’m over this.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

We'll probably never have a gaming Industry as great as 1985 - 2005 again.

[@edwardlove]

Phil said it all when he said if you just make one great exclusive game then it doesn't mean people will buy your console but he is wrong. If you build a mist have like gta or tlou then it will sell consoles

[@statesman6379]

They would probably decide to put it on PlayStation and still make the console irrelevant.

[@countryclub1113]

Yeah, he's wrong and you're right, because guess what made me get the original Xbox? HALO. It was that one game that kept me and my cousins playing that game and a few others up through the Xbox 360 days. But, I wasn't ever motivated to get the One, S, or X, because nothing motivated me to and it just seems that Xbox is a mess now and I don't trust them anymore. The buying up a bunch of studios strategy never works. Everything just closes down and doesn't get a chance to put out new cool ideas and games. If you just chase money in this industry, you'll fail.

[@aL3891_]

Shutting down the studios instead downsizing them is baffling... not even starting releasing the abk or zenimax back catalog is baffling... what the heck are they doing over there :(

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

How do you downzise a studio with 65 to 100 developers?

[@jamesgray1693]

People need to think a little about this. It could be a blessing in disguise.

[@RenZoneNL]

Lay it out then. People are dying for some hope atm

[@jasongeyer2111]

​@@RenZoneNL agreed, he needs to tell us what he's thinking 🤔

[@darkguardian1314]

Microsoft has another issue with Windows 10 end of support and many will have to buy new PC hardware to get around the TMP requirement. Windows 11 isn’t popular with the PC community.

[@mitchjames9350]

They really are fastening up ditching Windows 10 when XP had such a long support period.

[@countzero1136]

Windows 10 will still do everything that gamers need for some time yet, and if you want to play older games then huge numbers of them will now work on a Linux rig

[@mitchjames9350]

@@countzero1136 gamers only need direct x which requires us to update the latest trash windows.

[@seedywriter]

Funny how when it's time for bad news, Phil takes the backseat.

[@Dr.BaLLista]

Who is the Chief of Xbox? Matt Booty? Phil Spencer? Sarah Bond? That' s confusing man.

[@droid4d279]

They still have there bosses they have to deal with so investors and PR

[@craigsampson3386]

Phil Spender? Matt Butt? Idk lol but they all answer to Satya Nutella.

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

​@@craigsampson3386certified reddit comment.

[@jimmymac2292]

Matt Booty is head of xbox studios: the publisher Phil Spencer: CEO of Microsoft gaming Sarah Bond: president of XBOX

[@mygetawayart]

​@@jimmymac2292somehow that makes it even more confusing. They sound like they're the president of the same thing....oh hey, redundancy found!

[@omgbaxtergames]

I've been saying this for a while, and also shared on other channels: Sarah Bond used to work for Mckinsey & Co. That's all you need to know about her. Big 3 consulting does NOTHING but cut costs and fire staff. She has zero background in gaming besides her stint at ESA which really was a nothing role. Xbox is being driven into the ground and is failing their core audience. I cancelled my XBGP sub today, after not having even used it for the last 6 months. I have more fun anyways playing emulators and buying games for cheap on Steam. I'll admit, I was excited for the future of Xbox. I feel into Phil Spencer's vision. I thought the Series X/S era was going to be different. I thought GamePass was going to be great value. I was wrong. Suits are driving the Xbox division into the ground. When you hire people from Big 3 consulting to run something like video games, you're going to fail. I'll stick to my emulators, PS1/GBA/SNES classics, and Steam sales.

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

Not a big deal. Sony's gaming division is called Sony Interactive Entertainment. I hope they keep making consoles because i like their ui. I like how they constantly update it based off user feedback. If they stop making consoles i hope they make a version of the ui for pc's.

[@justinlacek1481]

8:55 I appreciate you acknowledging Gears 5. It's kind of an underappreciated gem, and The Coalition are an amazing team of devs.

[@CrashBashL]

@DestinLegarie "Seeing people freak the f*" out because the deal with Activision might go through and that would mean Sony could someday be (gasp) 2nd in the market! Here's the truth... 'Literally nothing would change.' Sony will be here. Xbox will. 'Everyone will still make games.' 02 Sep 22

[@_sparrowhawk]

So they're building a web based App Store, to avoid paying Apple any money... and ... wait, how do you install apps on iOS from the web? This sounds like an EU only deal.

[@Wrayyne]

Look at Xbox's production timeline from 2006-2013 and compare that to the present - that'll tell you everything you need to know about the state of "Xbox".

[@uzer_zero]

When people like Bond sound exactly like the U.S. Press Secretary (pick your favorite administration, any administration), you know the industry is in an existential crisis. Business people who can't be open about the business they're running, are not running a business; they're running a con.

[@FabuBrik]

Phil Spencer: *crickets*

[@KingScotto.]

Uncle Phil should of just made great AAA games with the money and studios they already had instead of wasting it all on Activision and Bethesda

[@mitchjames9350]

Zenimax was a good deal, ABK was kinda pointless since they have only put one game on gamepass. Where is the rest of Activision’s catalog on gamepass, this isn’t a good look by Microsoft.

[@crsmntmr392]

they dont know what they're doing in the first palce. their plan? to buy out all their competition making games to monopolize it they even try buying nintendo

[@rashaddow]

VGC: Phil spencer might be remembered as the guy who killed xbox 🤔. Destin remember your response to this video 30 days ago?

[@droid4d279]

He saved it Xbox One killed it

[@Nighttale233]

@@droid4d279 he's killing it now tho

[@craigsampson3386]

​@@droid4d279 good joke.

[@dreadlord2704san]

​@@droid4d279get your head out of your ass man. Even Don Matrick would have turned it around. Phil doesn't believe even in making good games. Everyone but Phil knew good exclusives sell consoles. You can double dip on PC too.

[@charlesleeiii]

I see a 4th Killer Instinct game is in development by Bandai Namco who's known for developing the Tekken games, and I also see that a Call of Duty game is being developed by High Moon Studios who worked on Darkwatch in the past and was published by Capcom.

[@kane7777]

Phil was promoted to head of Microsoft gaming in the same press release that they announced the Activision merger. How is everyone so slow??

[@codezero7981]

Destin looks extremely tired..

[@MvbnFhfg]

This clown was this champions this leadership now look how things turn to him

[@DalazG]

Wasn't Destin arguing for a long time that the Activision acquisition was "great for the industry"? It was terrible from the beginning, destroyed competition and it was never going to go into gamepass unless they wanted to avatar their revenue. There was no way they'd make enough money by removing the standard game spike most games get on new releases

[@ArtemisTGM]

Aren't you the ign guy? Can I just say I really appreciated your baulders gate 3 review and you legit nailed the industry 💯and where things are going, keep putting out these cool vids like starfield on PS5 when? 🔥

[@TheDanimal91]

They couldn't have picked a more corporate sounding name which very fitting.

[@tucoerquilenne6765]

MS is definitely in charge now. It’s just a question of how MS reorganizes XBox. 2025 studio closures and layoffs gonna be absolutely insane. My question is on branding. Can MS change XBox to MS Gaming now with all the 10 year deals out there ?

[@somethingsburning774]

Well it's partially understandable, XB didn't get things managed as well as they should have, I think they were overwhelmed with all the new studios so MS has stepped in to do it for them

[@TecraX2]

Tango apparently had around 65 devs and Hi-Fi Rush took 6 years to develop. Lets assume the average dev makes $100K/year, this puts the cost of labor alone (no office, computers etc.) for this game at almost $40 MILLION (65x0.1x6=39)... That's almost half of the budget for GTA IV!!!

[@michaelgallagher518]

Microsoft cash on hand as of march 2024: $80.01 B. Market cap: 3.08 trillion. 40 million over 6 years ain't jack shit. The problem is their business model for xbox.

[@Artimidorus]

​@@michaelgallagher518And thus showing they understand business, profits, and how to run a company.

[@sjneow]

GTAIV was also a PS2 era game, and HiFi Rush looks so much better than GTAIV so I say they punched above their weight.

[@mitchjames9350]

You and a lot of people forgot about Covid taking up 2 years of hindering progress.

[@sundarsubramaniam7274]

​@@sjneowGTA IV was a PS3/Xbox 360 era game.

[@saulovalleb]

After reading and watching all of this I am completely sure now that Phil and Sarah are not the problem, problem here is Microsoft board, Satya and I swear those guys of McKinsey are involved too, really hate those guys.

[@sethross7217]

Microsoft could’ve easily dominated the gaming industry if they played their cards right. I felt they were on to something with the OG Xbox and 360. I really don’t understand their tactics. They have everything right in front of them and they go a different route. SMH

[@Turniplord]

Destin looks like he's gonna cry. He was bigging up all the acquisitions, despite everyone saying it was a bad move for years

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

It's not a bad move at all. They own some of the biggest ips in gaming now. CoD and the mobile games bring in a ton of money every month by themselves.

[@heroicgangster9981]

@@ObiWanShinobi67 I wouldn't say AT ALL. Just microsoft xbox really doesn't like giving good experiences for their gaming audience. Their audience is the stonks

[@wilclark4832]

@@ObiWanShinobi67 owing money losing IPs isn't a good thing

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

@@wilclark4832 that's how investments work. They haven't lost any ips.

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

@@heroicgangster9981 idk. They have an awesome list of games coming this year starting May 21st. Plus new cod comfirmed for gamepass. These closures haven't affected that. Not sure why all of the freakouts.

[@chestercharlie6750]

They didn’t need to close tango and arkane, they needed a japenese studio

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

Tango didn't even make Japanese style games. I'd be cheaper to write a fat check for an exclusive game from a current Japanese developer.

[@ninetendopesaitama2107]

Nope. Tengo was just a shell of itself and arkane Austin produced just crap. ☮️

[@jimmymac2292]

Dude, Mobile and Nintendo simply dominate the Japanese market. One Japanese studio will not help them. Investment into the mobile market will

[@superburrito9797]

Instead of trying to break into Japan how about expanding into Europe and Latin America. Xbox is big in Mexico and Brazil. 2 billion potential consumers > 130 million in japan

[@heroicgangster9981]

The thing is Microsoft doesn't run like a Japanese studio, they're as western as they can get. Microsoft would hate how Nintendo runs things if they actually allow themselves to get bought

[@georgeandreas4930]

Dude, it’s not trivial to put things into the game pass service. It’s not like pushing a button and it is so. It takes hundreds of hours of tech dev time to make titles compatible with the service . I’m sure we’ll see plenty of those games you mention make there way there soon/ eventually.

[@Josef852]

I'm not really bothered right now. I'll wait and see what they will accomplish with this.

[@shredenvain7]

Actually with the horrendous output of both Xbox and Sony 1st party studios time wise why would you employ all these people when they aren't releasing their products? The game industry as a whole has ballooned out of control with everyone building giant new buildings and hiring a ton of people and they can't even release games in a timely and technically finished manner. If it wasn't for Insomniac and Sony outright purchasing 3rd party exclusives they would have Gran Turismo and that is it. Same thing with Xbox. They own all these studios and have been carried by Forza horizon and Halo infinite.

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

Because they overhired during the pandemic, thinking that boom in business would last forever.

[@sethross7217]

Sony has way more exclusives. Besides insomniac was pretty much an exclusive studio, Sony just made it official. Halo infinite is definitely not carrying Xbox.

[@AL-np1im]

Hell blade 2 is coming out with in 2 weeks with no marketing

[@luckythakur1832]

Ya I almost forget , all they do is 1 tweet saying hellblade 2 coming than they gonna blame its not sold well

[@pjisleta1994]

well they did on YT about mental health....

[@richardmcgowan1651]

The all-digital Xbox Series X that is planned with be the last Xbox product. The handheld that is being worked on will be called something else.

[@ryanschindler923]

Sadly, after Acti/Blz sale went through a lot changed and now Xbox has big Microsoft looming over their heads demanding a way to recoup costs and get a return on investment. That doesn't mean the things they said a year ago were lies, it's that things have changed and the higher ups are forcing their hand. Xbox is in a very dicey transition period right now. They got 3 potential big hits this year with Hellblade 2, Avowed, and Indiana Jones. If those aren't hits, we could easily see more closures, or 'restructuring', and the higher ups might see those companies as not needed if they can't make good games.

[@reamoinmcdonachadh9519]

The guys who made Redfall, DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE REDFALL in the first place, so I guess (in a way) the closure of that Studio could be seen as a consequence of their decision to make a bad game. There is a message in there, which NO ONE seems to be picking up and commenting on. Never mind the fact that XBOX Management did their usual and not involve themselves in managing the internal issues of one their Studios developing something their Devs admitted their heart wasn't in making. Now they are saying if you don't want to make what WE (through our Studio Management Team) want you to make...there's the door, please shut it on your way out.

[@isturbo1984]

But to be fair, a team should be able to handle a generic looter shooter. Teams "try something different" all the time. They don't struggle. The truth is the team sucked.

[@EL_-APACHE-_8407]

Redfall was already in production before microsoft bought them, in my opinion xbox was gona get rid of studios either way becuz of abk deal they just needed excuse

[@urazz7739]

I heard a lot of the talent at Arkane left before Redfall was released because they didn't' want to make Redfall. If that was the case, then Arkane was pretty much a shell of itself and with Redfall being such a bomb, I don't blame them for shutting the studio down. Tango was the wrong call though.

[@andreiga76]

@@EL_-APACHE-_8407 Why not fire Bethesda execs for ordering Arkane Austin to do Red Fall? Those guys decided that before MS acquired Bethesda, but no, leave them alone to create shitty stuff like Starfield. In a fair world, Todd Howard would lose his job, but I know, this is not about fairness but about who has more influence and big mouth.

[@Movel0]

@@andreiga76 Bethesda is the one that refused a pitch for Dishonored 3 from Arkane, then ordered Lyon to work on Deathloop but "as a small project". They also imposed Prey as a name when the devs were not fond of the idea. It seems even Redfall was not supposed to be a looter shooter at the beginning, then executive meddling turned it into the dumpster fire it was. I am no holding out my breath for neiter Blade nor Indiana Jones. Arkane and Machine Games were pushed into making Wolfenstein Youngblood, this is not the first time talented devs are wasted on idiotic projects.

[@stalzemsty1669]

Man... the internal workings and decision making at a huge corporation are absolutely fascinating. I don't envy Sarah or Phil. The stress and pressure they are under must be brutal. I hope a movie is made about this Activision acquisition decision and buyout. Fucking fascinating.

[@boismi]

Hi Destin. Love the channel branding and channel. Do the person(s) who develop your intros (media content wrappers) take-on new projects and clients ? Very interested; TIA if you can provide a contact.

[@przemeksz8203]

gamepass is not growing and they are sterting to panic

[@josephsaga]

I don’t believe what destin says anymore

[@Sheen334]

Are you stupid? Genuinely? He's reporting on news stories. Not all news stories end up being accurate. He's not just getting up on a morning and making g all this stuff up. Honestly, use what little intelligence you have and think about what you're trying to say.

[@Pedr0Lanza]

Cada vez me preocupa más la situación con Xbox...

[@arkos4637]

Where you been for two years? Phil was promoted to CEO of Microsoft Gaming back in 2022.......Satya referred to it during interviews in 2022 as Microsoft Gaming when they started the acquisition of ABK. Feels like games media had blinders on for two years between this and continuing to call Hi-Fi Rush a small game when the exact opposite was said by Johanas and a Lead Engineer just last year where they said that it was only a small game the first 2 years of dev but kept growing and that it was also an expensive game to make.....

[@gandsavior1979]

If xbox dosent deliver on Junes show, it will be a tremendous blow. Sony dosent have anything big for this year, xbox could've capitalised on it

[@alexmihoc3182]

they can't even "not deliver" M$ is some levels above us all like NASA

Helldiver's has been huge and so has Stellar blade with millions of fans.

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

They have an awesome slate of games coming this year, starting with hellblade.

[@econoinner_force954]

​@@ObiWanShinobi67 😆🔫

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

@@econoinner_force954 really? None of the games look good? Pony taint licker.

[@oldmancoys2407]

Sara looks so defeated

[@isturbo1984]

she looks like a lying corperate chronie. am i supposed to have sympathy for her while everyone is calling for the head of Phil, Aaron and Matt?

[@Stanosuke]

Don't feel bad for an executive. Feel bad for the people she and the others making millions let go.

[@isturbo1984]

man. i do notknow what buzzwords i am using. ut every time i criticize this ceo, my comments end up getting deleted.

[@zaltmanbleroze]

Don't worry. she can smile again when she checks her bank account balance

[@crsmntmr392]

she's getting a raise after this :)) i feel for her

[@abdel1143]

Ryan McCappie he capping

[@erikparkyn7038]

Uh... Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Microsoft/Xbox put it in writing while signing contracts for everyone that they would not put new call of duty's on gamepass on day one of release? Or was I misinterpreting what the discussion around that was about?

[@pjisleta1994]

they're still in debate

[@Calm_Chaos]

Destin, why did you say Arkane are gone, when they are not? They closed down the B team (Austin)

[@1986Lutrix]

It's crazy because a year ago or so people were saying Microsoft should look into buying companies like Capcom and Sega lol.

[@hiawa23]

No, surprise. Microsoft controls the money, not Sarah or Phil. MS should just be honest with gamers and start putting the games on all platforms, merge Xbox into Windows or PC and call it a day.

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

I hope when people are reading these rankings for game sales that it’s missing the actual sales number. You can be number 1 in sales for a week by simply selling 60k so I sure hope people don’t think a 25th ranked game sold 200k

[@nonchalant2295]

that's incorrect Destin there's a graph proving it's still xbox

[@statesman6379]

Not calling the shots.

[@nonchalant2295]

@@statesman6379 who isn't??

[@SWOTHDRA]

🧢

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

Time for Sony to do their own thing, Sony Gaming. Valve should come in with Steam gaming, and Nintendo with Nintendo gaming.

[@LymeGreen04]

nintendo already does their own thing lol and sony does the same stuff. they had layoffs earlier this year. they shut down a studio. its the same stuff

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@LymeGreen04 that's the joke

[@jasperabibas]

Wtf are you talking about lol

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@jasperabibas they already had a brand name in Xbox but it being called Microsoft gaming was just hilarious to me

[@TheWholeGrainBread_Real]

​@@TihetrisWeathersbyMicrosoft Gaming is the gaming division of Microsoft. Xbox is ran under Microsoft Gaming. I don't understand the "joke" here.

[@dusermiginte4647]

Thanks Destin for reporting everything about Xbox, youre putting alpt of work to bring us real and fair news in your videos and that bring more subs.. Have a great weekend you all.

[@unsungwindham]

Great analysis Destin

[@RavagHer]

bro they shut tango and arkane but left 343 and the initiative stay???

[@Movel0]

With the aggressive monetisation on Halo Infinite, I'm assuming they want to keep milking it.

[@TheJohhnyE]

Arkane wasn't shut down. Arkane Austin was shut down. The branch everybody called to be shut down after Redfall. 343 makes money, Tango has never made money on a single game. Why are so many people now pretending to care about these studios? None of you supported them before.. Now you want to pretend you care. 😂

[@dannypassion]

Why is nobody talking about tango, no delivering Hifi rush DLC

[@ObiWanShinobi67]

Microsoft still owns the ip. The core game is still there. Another studio could do it.

[@TheJohhnyE]

Because nobody bought the game. So they don't know about the dlc.

[@josephteller9715]

8:11 They can't afford the monetary hit if they put the other Activision properties on Gamepass. They need the subscription fees from WoW to pay for its operation it is the steady cash cow of the product line an game pass means no $15 a month from subscribers of that service. The numbers drop fast without the $180 a year from each user.

[@kNiV3Z]

I don’t think she was prepared. It was like Phil couldn’t make it so he had her go up last minute.

[@Streetdisciple27]

Xbox has no idea what their doing that’s why Sony is beating that azz

[@TheJohhnyE]

Wait until you hear about how Sony is bleeding money, shut down studios themselves and now are even screwing over PC players. Console sales mean nothing when the majority of people aren't buying games on those consoles. 😂

[@fabolousjada5070]

@@TheJohhnyEand still pulled out 4 games this year all bangers. Cry harder 😂

[@toexzzgaming3628]

I hope they just take the massive multiplatform publisher role. Bring all the games on all platform and keep making xbox consoles. In terms of policy, they are more consumer friendly then any publisher i know

[@SKOTxFREE]

They mind as well quit consoles and just do games. They cannot compete in consoles at this point.

[@disco4178]

Bloomberg's intro song for Sarah was... Deep Cuts, by The Knife 🔪 They knew what they were doing...

[@zybch]

Unsurprising she didn't mention SoT. Shes probably pissed its going well at playstation, and that means more exclusives will be lost. Sarah, Phil and Matt have had their division yanked out from underneath them and you can bet they're not happy, not least because they have lost all remaining trust, this time, not their fault.