"If you read Kotaku even semi-regularly, you already know that Xbox has been in a weird spot for some time now. And with today's news that both Xbox boss Phil Spencer and President Sarah Bond are leaving and the new head of the brand will be a former Meta exec who previously lead Microsoft's AI division, I think it's time to call it. Xbox is dead. Time of death: February 20, 2026."
"This death is far from sudden or surprising. If anything, we've all seen it coming for a while now. Reading the news about Xbox often felt like checking in on someone battling a terminal disease and whose fight wasn't going well. Looking at the endless layoffs, impossible demands from leadership, canceled projects, flops, games getting ported to PlayStation, and loads of mismanagement, it seemed clear that in recent years, Xbox wasn't doing well."
"The company began de-emphasizing the idea that you even needed to own an Xbox to play Xbox games. This is an Xbox, remember? Want to play Halo or Gears of War but don't own an Xbox? Don't worry, the games are launching on PC. Don't want to play on PC? It's fine, you can stream them via your phone or TV. You don't even have to buy the games, just pay for this monthly subscription."
Xbox entered a sustained decline that culminated on February 20, 2026, with the departures of key leaders and a new head from outside gaming. The 2023 acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion transformed Xbox into a massive publisher and increased pressure to deliver. The brand shifted away from a console-first approach toward PC releases, streaming, and subscription models. The company faced layoffs, canceled projects, franchise ports to competitors, and widespread mismanagement. These combined factors eroded Xbox's console identity and commercial momentum over a two-year period.
Read at Kotaku
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