Xbox employees ‘completely confused’ by console strategy claims insider-Adam Starkey-Entertainment – Metro

The confusion is mutual, apparently (Microsoft)

If you were confused by Microsoft’s strategy when it comes to the future of Xbox, a report claims employees have no idea what’s going on either.

While there was a time when Microsoft’s string of studio acquisitions appeared to be part of a considered plan to rejuvenate the Xbox brand, it’s become clear over the past year that the company is severely lacking in the foresight department.

Xbox Series X/S sales have continued to tank in recent months, and while there’s talk of next generation hardware on the horizon, Xbox’s attempts at making Game Pass the solution by launching it across multiple devices isn’t working either – with numbers across all gaming subscription services stagnating.

This has led to a push towards multi-platform releases for Xbox exclusives, along with multiple rounds of layoffs, to try to stimulate growth. Amid all these changes though, a new report claims Xbox employees are now unclear on the company’s overall direction.

Has Call Of Duty been affected by the Xbox layoffs?

As reported by eXtas1s, who previously leaked the white digital-only Xbox Series X several months before it was announced, a number of Xbox employees have claimed the internal situation amid the layoffs has become ‘quite complex’.

‘Most employees I have spoken to are completely confused about Xbox’s overall strategy,’ eXtas1s wrote on Twitter. That’s not even first time that suggestion has been made, with similar assertations having been made in February, when Xbox’s multi-platform strategy was first discussed in public.

The insider claims the recent layoffs at Xbox and Activision, which affected 650 staff, even impacted the Call Of Duty and Warzone Mobile teams, because they hadn’t ‘met revenue expectations’.

‘The company’s new goal is clear: Move its subscriber numbers on Game Pass and consoles, which are currently stagnant,’ they added.

GameCentral has reached out to Xbox for comment.

When is Call Of Duty coming to Game Pass?

Microsoft recently upped the price of Xbox Game Pass and locked several big titles behind the most expensive subscription tier, including Starfield and Diablo 4. This move comes ahead of the release of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 on October 25, which is set to launch day one on the service for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Xbox is clearly hoping Call Of Duty will lead to an influx of Game Pass subscribers, with additional older entries in the series also expected to hit the service at some point, but it remains to be seen whether it will move the needle in any significant way.

Beyond Game Pass, the future of Xbox might see a move into the handheld market, based on past comments from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Recently, he also said there will be ‘more change’ in how Xbox games are built and distributed in the future.

While explaining that there’s currently a ‘lot of pressure on the industry’ as companies look to grow, Spencer said: ‘And us as fans, as players of games, we just have to anticipate there’s going to be more change in how some of the more traditional ways that games were built and distributed – that’s going to change for all of us.

‘But the end result needs to be better games that more people can play. If we’re not focused on that, we’re focused on the wrong things.’

It’s vague statements like that though, coupled with the continued lack of high-profile Xbox exclusives, years after so many acquisitions, which has probably sparked the confusion in the first place.

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