Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida sums up the structural dilemma of Microsoft's gaming division in a single social media post.
His prediction marks the end of the Xbox as a standalone hardware platform. The console is dissolving and being absorbed into the Windows ecosystem. This is not a defeat, but rather a retreat into its only remaining core competency.
An industry veteran states the obvious.
Shuhei Yoshida, who steered the fortunes of SIE Worldwide Studios for over a decade, commented succinctly on the recent restructuring reports at Microsoft. His statement: "Xbox will dissolve into Windows, and that's Microsoft's strength." A simple sentence with maximum impact. Yoshida isn't analyzing this as a fanboy, but as an industry expert. He sees the raw numbers.
The news comes at an inopportune time for the green energy company. Bloomberg is simultaneously reporting a massive wave of layoffs in its hardware division, to be implemented by the end of June 2026 under the new CEO, Asha Sharma. The division is suffering from continuously declining sales figures.
The logical consequence is the already initiated loss of in-house titles. "Halo: Campaign Evolve" and "Fable" are being released for the PlayStation 5. There are exceptions with upcoming titles like "Gears of War: E-Day," because without exclusives, the foundation of any console collapses.
The operating system as the last line of defense
The strategic realignment is evident in the technical specifications of the upcoming hardware. Under the codename Project Helix, there are increasing indications that the proprietary Xbox operating system will be completely discontinued. The next generation of devices will run directly on Windows. Microsoft is thus abandoning the classic console model. The risk associated with heavily subsidized hardware is being shifted to third-party manufacturers like Asus and MSI, who produce corresponding handhelds and compact PCs.
This move is a direct response to a collapsing ecosystem. Game Pass is stagnating after drastic price increases to as high as $30 and dwindling subscriber numbers. resigned en masseAt the same time, Microsoft is experiencing significant revenue declines in its traditional hardware business, as internal production capacity and semiconductor resources are primarily being allocated to expanding its AI server infrastructure. There is no longer room in the balance sheet for inexpensive game consoles.
Yoshida isn't describing a doomsday scenario, but rather economic reality. Microsoft is correcting its historical mistake of trying to establish a dedicated Xbox box in the living room and is retreating to a software monopoly. Buying an Xbox console will be completely obsolete by 2026. The ecosystem will migrate entirely to PCs and competing platforms. The Xbox brand will survive not as hardware, but as an app on Windows. Nothing more.
Rene, I don't have any, not at all! I think the PS is good, you're rubbish, to each their own! What platform are you using?
Gears of War: E-Day Budget
, unfortunately not for PS5, garbage... ohhhhh cry quietly, you faggot 😏
Good thing MS put a stop to this 🤣🤣☝️
@Monica Yaffa But he's not with Sony.
It was obvious that Sony would comment on the situation and Shuhei Yoshida would speak out again.
Xbox has been dead since the 360.
Lars Wegas 😂😂😂 no, that’s clear
The problem likely lies with many things, but not with the hardware. Except for the Xbox One, which was terrible, the consoles were really good for their time. Even the current Xbox is very well designed. I've never played on a quieter console. My PS5 can only dream of that. But the management is too soft and dishonest; they should admit their weaknesses more often and stand by their ideas instead of constantly changing direction.
So, for the last few years I've mostly been playing on Steam on my PC because, unfortunately, many games just can't compete with the countless €6 indie titles that I can play with friends for weeks on end, and which are often so awesome. For me, the PS5 is the solo console because most of the exclusives are single-player, and that hasn't been the case for me in recent years. Hmm, everything's different now, let's see what the future holds.
Your PS5 can only dream of that?
If you can hear them, something seems to be broken.
Coil whine is unfortunately not an isolated incident with the PS5, nor is it a defect. This high-pitched whine can be really annoying.
They only have themselves to blame. I was always more of an Xbox user, even (still) in the One era, but only until last year.
This isn't new information, but yes, of course he's right about that 🤷🏻♂️
Marcel Lunz You 😉
What do you mean by "you"? Shuhei Yoshida is a guy, and that's who the statement was referring to 🤣 And besides the author, there's a Mr. Niklas Bender, so what exactly are you rambling on about?
The end of the Playstation is nigh, while I can play my games on pretty much any device via Xbox Cloud Gaming, PS games still require crappy old console hardware 🤣🤣🤣👌
And expensive to manufacture 🤣🤣😏
The fact that these games even run and the PlayStation fans keep buying them, even if their much-praised junk console cost €1500... how awesome is that?! 👌
Rene Hab Keinen, you're such a great boxer too… 💆🏻♀️
Sandro Duryn
At least no PS sheep would shell out €1000 for a console plus disc drive, for old Zen 2 junk 🤣🤣🤣
Rene, I don't have one like for the Xbox 🤣😂
Peter Erlmeier
Who says I play on an Xbox? 😱🤦🤦🤦
Rene, I don't have one, and if you play PC games, it's the same 🤣😂
Rene, you obviously don't have any complaints about the Xbox!
Rene Hab Keinen, it's precisely because of people like you that Xbox is on the brink of collapse.
Instead of actually discussing with your own community why things got to this point, you're insulting others who are completely innocent.
Oh man, you're ridiculous.
Rene, I don't have a fanboy 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Why are you insulting other people here? You, with your obvious spelling disorder, no sense of sentence structure or correct spelling, should tone it down a bit.
Nope, MacBook Cloud Gaming 😏😅
I use it on all platforms, sometimes Chrome OS, mostly Mac OS... and it works perfectly there 😂😂
The end of PlayStation is near, but that's about it 😂
Mathias Wiedenroth: That's a difficult question to answer since it's still the best-selling console of the two and very likely will be in the next generation as well. (But we'll have to wait and see.) ☺️
Mathias Wiedenroth says the end of the Playstation is not near, but the end of the Xbox is.
Peter Erlmeier, it's over with the EndStation, no games, no added value, it can go.
Mathias Wiedenroth: There are a lot of games coming for the PS5, but not for the Xbox, so it's a waste of time. 😂🤣
You Xbox fanboys are all the same, you think you know what you're talking about but it's all just hot air, Xbox has always been the eternal loser and always will be.
Mathias Wiedenroth then lies down next to the long-decayed Xbox.
Rolf Rumes' "No" should not be confused with the final stop.
Mathias Wiedenroth: Why? What a load of rubbish!
Mathias Wiedenroth: It's the other way around, and a new Xbox will never come.
Sure, keep dreaming about your kids' station that doesn't have any games where Microsoft games top the charts. How about Concord? Oh wait, that flopped 🤭 like all the other games.
Mathias Wiedenroth What a fanboy 😂🤦♂️. Forgot Redfall, Crackdown 3 etc.?
Marcel Neubert: Good games didn't flop, so that's a bad comparison. You can't criticize something that isn't bad anyway. You should focus on making sure the next game isn't a flop, like so much else from Sony for the Players 🤭😂
Mathias Wiedenroth, you're really funny! Let's see if it will still be possible to play PS games on PC in the future? I don't think so, but what about Xbox? The games will probably always be available on PC, so the conclusion is that we can easily do without the Xbox!