Amid leadership reorganization xboxNews has emerged that the brand's controversial “This is a Xbox” campaign has also sparked controversy internally. Microsoft's gaming division has had a choppy few years, with the brand finding great success as a game publisher but struggling to find its footing in the hardware space. Now, it seems Xbox employees have also questioned the company's bold move.
Xbox recently sent shockwaves through the gaming sector when it announced that Phil Spencer was retiring as CEO of Microsoft Games and that Xbox president Sarah Bond was also resigning. This was surprising, not only because Spencer had been the face of the brand for a long time, but also because many thought Bond would be next to replace him. There's likely a lot more internal factors involved in this situation than the public realizes, but as more details about the leadership change emerge, it sounds like there was more conflict at Xbox than met the eye.
Outgoing Xbox President Sarah Bond releases statement following news of departure
Outgoing Xbox boss Sarah Bond issues an official statement after confirming she will be leaving Microsoft.
Insiders claim that a number of Microsoft employees discovered the 'This is Xbox' campaign attack.
Industry insider Tom Warren posted an in-depth look at Xbox's leadership change, revealing that sources told him the “This is Xbox” campaign “offended a lot of Xbox employees internally.” This strategy symbolizes the Sarah Bond era's focus on delivering a cohesive experience across all platforms, beyond proprietary products and hardware. While the goal of leveraging a larger install base may make some sense, many found the campaign confusing and questioned whether moving away from consoles was a good decision. Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra, in particular, enthused, “This is Xbox,” saying “only a fool” would keep making hardware while making every game available everywhere.
Despite this public shift away from consoles, or at least away from console exclusives, Bond insisted that the hardware is still core to the Xbox brand and fan experience. The company launched new systems under Bond in the form of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, but these were not enough to boost overall console sales. Games from Microsoft-owned studios include: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 Although it sold well when released on competing consoles, Xbox's hardware sales suffered. The company's hardware revenue has declined for three consecutive fiscal years and is expected to continue to decline through 2026, according to Warren.
Gaming hardware as a whole has faced an uphill battle lately, so it seems like the “this is Xbox” strategy isn't only the cause of this decline, it hasn't helped either. Warren also reported that this apparently aggressive marketing campaign was not the only cause of conflict internally, with multiple sources saying Bond was difficult to work with. “If you don't follow the vision or question it, you're out,” his controversial “everything is Xbox” ethos will take a further hit, according to his anonymous insider. At the same time, these sources praise Bond's skills as a dealmaker, including overseeing much of the legal drama surrounding Xbox's acquisition of Activision and taking charge of the company shortly after that process began.
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Regardless of how controversial things have been going on beneath the surface of Xbox, all eyes are now turning to the future. With Bond and Spencer stepping down, there are many questions about where the company will go from here. Rumors are swirling that the launch of the next Xbox console could be delayed due to lack of RAM, so it's possible that the launch will take a different direction than it was headed under previous leadership, but we can't say for sure. Whether the brand will move away from “this is Xbox” is likewise a mystery that only time will tell.
- brand
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microsoft
- original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- operating system
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Proprietary (Windows-based)
- processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8GHz
- solve
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720p – 4K UHD
Source: The Verge
