Microsoft Xbox could be dead: rumors suggest 'hardware production has ceased' on Xbox consoles

Update: Microsoft has replied to these rumors, with a statement reading: "We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox". You can also read a new story on the topic right here.

Microsoft has reportedly killed off its Xbox hardware business according to new rumors, with reports that the "hardware production has ceased" on any future Xbox consoles.

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In a new post on the NeoGAF forums, leaker "SneakersSO" who had previously leaked the initial plans for porting Xbox games to other consoles, says that there were indeed plans to make a next-gen Xbox console that went from "really concrete" to being "up in the air" because the time to pull the trigger on the manufacturing of a new Xbox wasn't that far.

The original plans were to kick start in 2026 for a 2027 launch to compete against Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 console, but now the leaker seems to be suggesting the party is over for Xbox completely. SneakersSO posted: "Without going into too much detail, not long after the last round of layoffs (next one should be coming in Q1 26 btw - and it's going to be just as massive as the last one), some rumblings out of Xbox starting coming out that were a little hard to believe".

• Read more: The next-gen Xbox could cost TWICE as much as the PlayStation 6, and here's why
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The post continues, saying: "the ramifications of the CoD GP gambit not working out were just starting to get properly measured, but the thing that really stuck out to me was that suddenly, really concrete plans for actual MS Xbox HW went from being definitive, to up in the air, which was really startling given that this thing was meant to be out relatively soon. It was one of those situations where, despite folks being told 'hey, we wanna pull the trigger on this in 2026', the steps you would need to take in the lead up to delivering a new console gen weren't being met. Lots of things that were 'sure things' started getting pushed. The Costco retailer pulling Xbox, and apparently they are one of many that we'll learn about soon, told me all I needed to know".

"To sum it up: the future of Xbox is software publishing, with a significantly honed-in focus on profitable IPs (CoD, WoW, Minecraft, Candy Crush, Forza Horizon), Cloud gaming being the home of the 'Xbox platform', transitioning GamePass into basically becoming the point of entry subscription for xCloud access (which will continue to drive its price tag higher btw, they aren't done there just yet either), and releasing their software on any device that has a marketplace and users willing to buy their titles".

Maybe some OEM thing will take up the Xbox name, but given what is clearly a collapse in favorable mindshare and faith in said brand, I'm not even sure a 3rd party OEM is gonna want to have an Xbox console by the time MS is done with their reorienting of the division".