Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond both out. Matt Booty and trash tech CEO in. Game over boys no Xbox next gen.

https://www.ign.com/articles/phil-spencer-retiring-sarah-bond-out-matt-booty-promoted-as-microsoft-ai-exec-asha-sharma-named-new-xbox-boss-exclusive

I've been an Xbox gamer since the early 360 days and even stayed loyal through the One/Series X era, but it really feels like Microsoft leadership hates Xbox with a passion and they're doing everything they can to kill off the brand and move all of their assets towards their AI/Indian money laundering department

Over the past few years I've seen the writing on the wall and started making most of my new game purchases on Steam. No point in locking my library to a console brand that may not even live to see the next generation

Yup but lets face it Xbox was doomed the moment they put Sarah Bond in charge of anything over at Xbox. She was clueless, and guess who they appointed to replace Phil? Some woman whose only background is with Instacart and leading AI at Microsoft.

Xbox is just a ruined brand ran by a ruined company. Microsoft's dedication towards creating AI slop driven products is going to drive all their customers away. I have no idea who can still be a fan of Xbox anymore, if they lost me as a fan it seems like they must have no real fans anymore. I know all the former Xbox fans I have met seem to feel the same way.

I hope the Steam console puts Xbox division out of it's misery. It seems like Microsoft is never going to learn, they just keep doubling down on awful decisions.

Lmaooo between Sony shutting down Bluepoint + all their shenanigans this gen and MS going all in on Co-Pilot Box, console gaming is fukkin doomed.

If we attack Iran, China will attack Taiwan and the AI bubble will finally crash.

And that does gamers bad right?

Maybe. There will be no chips at that point, so it would force devs to actually optimize their chit.

I think AAA gaming as a whole is in a bad place tbh. Going to rely heavily on indies for the next few years as I'm confident Xbox is going to shutter a handful of studios with this new shakeup.

Sony closing Bluepoint and I'm sure there will be others to follow.

Nintendo just doing what they do and re-releasing Pokemon games so it doesnt look like they have anything exciting on the Horizon.

I think the next few years will look interesting

As long as we gamers get to eat. That’s what I’m afraid of that many of us will starve for new games while I just can use that time to dig into the backlog.

Blue point games still on pc, and, xbox. Quite a loss for Sony I guess?

Yep.

I think we're nearing the point of a sort of reset. Platform holders changing up things and seem clueless with any sort of long term goals or strategies that benefit gamers, big pubs getting consolidated and outright bought out by consortiums that know fuck all about gaming just to get in on the video game shekel business.

Companies like Larian, CD Projekt Red, Warhose, Arc Raider devs etc are all stepping up and providing us AAA games that the old guard has forgot about by chasing trends and what not. Personally I'm gonna remain hopeful (apart from the ram situation) .... A lot of indies like you said are doing much cooler shit rn which I enjoy, so honestly I'm kinda over waiting for the console exclusives. I'm sure some might be quite hype, but at this point I feel like there's so many good games out there right now, so I'm not really starved at not having anything to play to be honest.

Fun fact: Microsoft fired Phil and Sarah shortly after I allowed my Gamepass to expire.

Just sayin. They could have been like "shit we lost Jay360, we're fucked!" and ended it with the leadership right then and there. It has been proven how the firing did come suddenly and unexpectedly, Sarah left some supportive PR tweet only 3 hours before she was let go.

Yup I have my consoles filled with what I consider to be the best games avalible right now, and my backlog has become incredible as I focused on building up my digital libraries for modern platforms in recent years (buying games on my wishlists when they go on sale has made that easy). Now I'm at the point where it's like I got all my bases covered, I have sifted through everything out there with a fine tooth comb, and my consoles have the best selection and variety I could get. I feel like I could just take all my shit offline and be content with it for the forseeable future desert island style if I so desired.

AAA is in a shitty slop period and has been very hit and miss this generation and the last. All the big publishing corporations have developed a too big to fail mentality with their heads up their ass as they just keep pumping out endless "safe" games following the same few popular trends and franchises. "AA" has taken the place of AAA for me in recent years and I consider those studios to be the equivalent of the way AAA studios felt and were ran in the golden age of gaming (90's - 00's). As I have known where to look for my personal interests I can't complain about a lack of variety at this point, and these AA studios are definitely where I look for anticipated new releases. Good example is how I am really excited for the new Tokyo Xtreme Racer dropping on PS5 soon, that's the kind of stuff I am looking forward to and supporting. Most new AAA games are only good for a few laughs and that's it, then I ignore them and forget about them.

Gaming industry definitely needs a hard reset and I think we might see a AAA industry crash if things continue the way they have. I think indie and AA will be fine though. They have much lower budgets, operating costs, smaller teams, and actually give the people what they want. Modern big tech is just really fucked up right now, especially since the AI bullshit took over. Only good thing is how these dumbasses have been pouring so much into AI data centers that they no longer have enough parts to supply consumer markets, so we won't have to worry about them keeping demand up with next gen hype anytime soon.

Can I just say new jay is the best Jay? ...I'm fine with fanboying and doing it for the lolz, but realistic fanboying and still being able to have a nuanced and srs takes is still nice when you wanna discuss this nerd hobby. Please dont have a heel turn again.

atari, sega and now microsoft. all bow to the king
sony is next

Thanks man, truly appreciate the kind words. I am just trying to be more honest, relaxed, and true to myself for now on. That and like I've said, it feels like it's hard to be a fanboy right now. I feel like anyone still fanboying in 2026 are the true diehards for life, like the true fanboys who swear by their one favorite brand with undying loyalty. I just like video games and I have adapted to the times.

I honestly think this could be one of the best gaming forums right now if we get along, seems like all the other gaming forums either died out or became unusable for anyone who isn't trying to be some memelord or manchild.

I just want to game in a safe nation. We get that it’s a beautiful thing, peace that is.

OVER

Been with Sony since PS1. Would never touch a sexbox