Laura Fryer, one of the creators of the original Xbox, spoke about Microsoft's current problems. In her opinion, the company is "just experimenting" trying to figure out what will work.
After mass layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations, Microsoft has sparked outrage by raising prices for Xbox and the Game Pass subscription.
Fryer believes that the Xbox team may not be sure what it is doing - not in a negative sense, but rather in an exploratory one.
"When I worked at Xbox, I was always amused that people on the outside thought we were calculating everything. In fact, we were just trying to figure things out. We had no idea what we were doing."
According to her, this approach is still felt today: Xbox is losing stability, and the company's strategy remains inconsistent. Since the Xbox One era, the brand has been experiencing problems - Microsoft consoles are unprofitable, only games and content bring profit.
Fryer recalled that even Game Pass is an experiment, albeit a successful one: the service brought in about $5 billion, or 21% of Xbox's annual revenue. But a series of scandals surrounding prices and policies could undermine audience trust and make it harder to find new employees.
"All these changes are hurting the brand. When we launched Xbox, Microsoft was not a beloved company. Xbox made it closer, funnier, and more alive. Now this feeling is disappearing - and the ability to attract talented people is being lost."
Fryer concluded by saying that Microsoft needs to restore the trust of players. But it won't be easy, especially if advertising appears directly in console games.
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