In their continued scramble for all the money and unattainable infinite growth, Microsoft’s Xbox division has fully lost the PR plot. Under group boss Phil Spencer they had tremendous momentum five years ago, but now they’re in a firm third place out of three console players and trying to spend their way out of the hole, all while muddling their message and stepping on so many avoidable rakes.
Xbox seemingly can’t decide if they want to be a gaming software company or a gaming platform holder, and their continued baffling public PR tailspin keeps setting their dedicated community on fire with rage. Spencer, under pressure from leaders above him, has been trotted out time and again to make a bold Xbox statement, only to then essentially reveal it was a lie and change course a few months later. Their messaging reeks of general incompetence and constant backroom infighting, and Phil Spencer ends up looking like he just can’t make up his mind, even if the reality is more complex than that.
Their new direction towards multiplatform releases might indeed save the Xbox brand as a going concern but it would all be so much cleaner coming from a new face, instead of from the guy who has spent years touting the strengths of their console family and community.
