XBOX: Lost Faith

Last week, Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees. The layoffs hit the Xbox brand especially hard. Studios shuttered. Games canceled. Familiar calls to fire Phil Spencer echoed across social media, an almost ritualistic response at this point that, while warranted, will ultimately fizzle out. Amid it all that confusion, frustration, and chaos, Phil had the nerve to say the future was bright for Xbox and that he appreciated the hard work of those who were let go.

Of course he said that. He has shareholders to appease. But appreciation doesn’t pay rent. It doesn’t erase the sting of being told your work, your passion, is no longer needed. I’ve been on the receiving end of that kind of decision. It’s not fun. No matter how eloquent the farewell memo, it doesn’t make anyone walk away with their head held high.

Alas, we live in a capitalistic society that prioritizes profits over people. Xbox and Microsoft are doing what every other company does and will inevitably do; cut costs to keep the money flowing and the shareholders smiling. The video game business is expensive as hell. AAA production budgets are ballooning into the stratosphere, and Xbox is no exception. What sets it apart, though, is Phil Spencer’s face-forward approach. He’s the talking point. The excitement. He makes you believe in the brand and the product.

And that’s the problem now: belief.

Phil cultivated a reputation that made people believe in Xbox again. After the missteps of the Xbox One era, he became the symbol of a comeback story. But after years of promises, delays, and cancelations, how much longer can gamers continue to believe in the vision he touts?

I was, at one time, an Xbox fanboy. The original Xbox was my first console outside of a Gameboy. From 2001 to now, I’ve always had an Xbox. I own a Series S and subscribe to Game Pass. And as long as the console continues to support backwards compatibility, I’ll keep getting whatever comes next. My digital library includes games from the OG Xbox. I have titles that don’t run well on PC without heavy modification or aren’t available at all. Xbox remains the logical choice for me for games I want to go back and play from my teenage years.

But I’ve lost faith in Xbox.

The brand. The product. The faces that present themselves as a supportive figure. My desire to keep a gaming library notwithstanding, I gravitate to PC more and more. Gone are the days where I would spend hours on my Xbox. I spend most of my time on the PC. And while I do think Game Pass is fantastic, I’m using it less and less. When I think of Xbox, it’s more nostalgia than current love.

Xbox is not what it once was to me. As much as I would like to believe in Phil, I do not believe in Microsoft. It’s unfortunate that lack of faith trickles down to Phil and the brand I spent years supporting. Not that I’m done with Xbox, I’m just disappointed, jaded, and continue to wonder about the future of it all. My heart wants to love Xbox, and the gaming industry, but with each passing day, with each studio closing, I find it harder and harder to support the hobby and industry I grew to love.

How many others are like me?

To be fair, I do not think the average person who plays games will think twice about Xbox’s layoffs or the closing of studios. I’m in a small echo chamber that reads news and listens to gaming podcasts daily. I’m tuned in to the gaming industry in a way that the average person who just wants to play COD, a sports game, or Fortnite never will be.

But I do wonder if the illusion will break for those people too. And, if it does happen, what is the catalyst that breaks them?