Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerMicrosoft has allegedly shut down the division in charge of bringing its games to brick-and-mortar retailers. The news comes on the heels of its plan to axe 1,900 employees across Xbox, Bethesda, and the recently acquired Activision Blizzard.
On Twitter, Windows Central editor Jez Cordon claimed the news. He did add that while this very might have happened, it isn’t concrete that Microsoft is wholesale giving up on physical gaming. As we’ve noted in the past, Xbox gamers are a lot more conditioned to digital-only releases. Considering we’ve previously reported on Starfield being wiped from Walmart shelves, this wouldn’t come as a surprise.
Another well-known industry figure, Daniel Ahmed, chimed in, noting that there are AAA games on Xbox that have an 80%+ share and that this definitely has implications for where the next generation of Xbox will go.
Microsoft has also shut down departments dedicated to bringing Xbox games to physical retail … which if you've seen the digital-only Xbox console leaks … well, you can get an idea of where Microsoft is going here.
— Jez (@JezCorden) January 25, 2024
What do you think? Do you think this spells the end of wider available physical gaming on Xbox? Let us know below!