'Xbox is a mess right now,' top games reporter thinks

Xbox's mixed messaging is apparently causing tumult both internally with game developers and teams, and externally with long-time fans of the brand.

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Microsoft's games division has changed considerably over the last few years. In 2023, Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard King for $70 billion, and the merger added tremendous weight to Xbox as a whole. Xbox was already pressured to deliver growth, but post-merger, those margins are more challenging, with Microsoft's board and top C-suite scrutinizing the games unit more closely than ever before.

This need to hit specific revenue and profit margins has forced disruption within Xbox. Microsoft broke exclusivity in first-party games, bringing hits like Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves to PlayStation. Then Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was also confirmed for a PS5 release. The dam has broken, and Xbox's consistency is more so aimed at disruption than it is, well, building a walled garden.

Microsoft's moves has led to lots of criticism from Xbox faithful. Things apparently are not much better internally: developers and other teams are reportedly confused with Xbox's overall plan, and Bloomberg's recent interview with Xbox president Sarah Bond seemed to show a potentially over-ambitious leadership team who wants to do it all--mobile, cloud, PC, console, handheld, subscriptions, game sales, etc. This has led to a lot of crossed wires and the overall trajectory remains unclear.

Some, like Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, think Xbox is a total mess. This is an opinion, of course, but one built around reporting--and one that seems to reflect recent reports from The Verge.

"Xbox is such a mess right now, I feel like their plan is changing every single year,"Schreier said in a recent Spawncast episode.

"Right now they're talking about teasing handheld over and over again but who knows? A year ago, they were saying Indiana Jones was never coming to PlayStation so like, they change their minds every month. They're just a disaster over there, it's really sad."

It's important to note that this wasn't printed coverage published by Bloomberg, but an offhand statement made by Schreier in a podcast that reflects his opinion on the matter.