{"id":775,"date":"2026-07-07T16:14:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:14:29","slug":"the-next-xbox-cant-afford-to-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775","title":{"rendered":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

After burning its previous business plan to the ground\u2014leaving thousands of its former Microsoft and developer studio staff to suffer in the conflagration\u2014Xbox has left itself no choice but to pin its future hopes on next-gen hardware.<\/p>\n

Read more ChatGPT Sounds Great at Money Advice. That\u2019s the Problem<\/a><\/p>\n

True to form, Xbox\u2019s new strategy is seemingly \u201cyou can\u2019t make an omelet without taking a bulldozer to the chicken coop.\u201d The full-scale Xbox \u201creset,\u201d as described by CEO Asha Sharma, led the company to ax 1,600 staff positions across several of Microsoft\u2019s teams and among various studios. Xbox has cut four studios loose and left developers like Obsidian, Bethesda, and id Software short on staff. As heartbreaking as it is to read longtime devs\u2019 farewell letters, this is only the start. Xbox plans to cut ties with 3,200 employees by the year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n

Obsidian Enterainment was hit by the XBOX reset layoffs. This includes their art director who worked there for 21 years. #Xbox pic.twitter.com\/sNRHP5SZir<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rebs Gaming (@Mr_Rebs_) July 6, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The one part of Xbox that may survive relatively unscathed is the console division. According to Windows Central, anonymous sources within Xbox claim that the team behind the upcoming Xbox \u201cProject Helix\u201d console remains intact. According to the report, the console won\u2019t be delayed. That\u2019s despite what Sharma called in her letter to staff \u201cthe most severe hardware crisis in [the video game industry\u2019s] history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like every other company that has a toe in computing, the ongoing memory pricing crisis has left Microsoft\u2019s gaming division scrambling for ways forward. Xbox recently hiked prices (the third one in a year) for its Series S and Series X consoles by $100 to $150 depending on storage size. However, Windows Central\u2019s sources suggest the console team creating Project Helix is trying to \u201cinnovate on materials\u201d to keep costs down. Even still, the next-gen Xbox was originally billed as one of the most powerful consoles available. Xbox has touted that Project Helix should be able to play PC games as well as Xbox titles, and such a device seems like it would demand a premium price.<\/p>\n

Even a company as big as Microsoft can\u2019t negotiate a favorable deal on memory from the increasingly cartel-like memory makers. For instance, Micron\u2014one of the big three semiconductor companies that makes RAM and SSDs\u2014has emphasized it\u2019s now pursuing five-year contracts that could keep memory prices high until at least 2030. Sharma, who has been in her position for less than five months, has mentioned multiple times that the average gamer would not be able to afford consoles at obscene prices.<\/p>\n

Read more Smart Glasses Now Have \u2018Privacy Kits\u2019 to Protect You From Getting Punched in the Face<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n

This is an important email I sent today to all employees at XBOX:<\/p>\n

Team,<\/p>\n

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 ASHA (@asha_shar) July 6, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whether or not Xbox pins all its hopes on Project Helix, it\u2019s clear hardware is its only path forward. The old \u201cEverything is an Xbox\u201d strategy didn\u2019t pan out, as Sharma wrote that the company lost \u201c64 cents for every dollar we invested\u201d in a typical year prior to 2026. Game Pass, once Xbox\u2019s big plan for future growth, has stagnated. The Wall Street Journal reported based on an anonymous source that Game Pass is currently sitting at 30 million subscribers. Xbox previously hoped to reach 77 million subscribers by this year.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Fortune, Sharma said the team also needs to focus on mobile and PC. She further claimed that \u201cI think our core has to be healthy, and that will be necessary but not sufficient.\u201d If Xbox has any ambitions beyond consoles, Microsoft isn\u2019t telling. In public statements, Sharma has emphasized the regular old console\u2014even bringing out a limited edition ultra-green Series X slated for this year. That doesn\u2019t mean Microsoft can\u2019t push more handheld options like the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X or\u2014perhaps\u2014even a first-party streaming stick. The latter was something Xbox had been developing but ultimately canceled under Phil Spencer, Sharma\u2019s predecessor. With the expected premium that Project Helix would fetch, a low-cost way to stream Xbox games suddenly looks attractive.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

We don\u2019t yet know what form the next generation of Xbox hardware may take. But if one thing\u2019s clear through all this mess, Xbox can\u2019t survive another one of these \u201cresets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The Irritating Phenomenon Known As \u2018Tilly Norwood\u2019 Is Getting Some Sort of Movie Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xbox has burned everything else it had left in its massive, ongoing ‘reset.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xbox has burned everything else it had left in its massive, ongoing 'reset.'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Long Haul Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\"},\"headline\":\"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775\"},\"wordCount\":791,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775\",\"name\":\"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=775#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Long Haul Moving Pros\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros","og_description":"Xbox has burned everything else it had left in its massive, ongoing 'reset.'","og_url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775","og_site_name":"Long Haul Moving Pros","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b"},"headline":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail","datePublished":"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775"},"wordCount":791,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp","articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775","name":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail - Long Haul Moving Pros","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-07T16:14:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5adbd3dba108a8feab4a37a6034905e5.webp","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=775#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Xbox Can\u2019t Afford to Fail"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/","name":"Long Haul Moving Pros","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com"],"url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}