Ybarra, former Corporate Vice President at Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, shared his opinion on X, discussing the future of Xbox consoles and Microsoft's policy regarding third-party software. He reacted to criticism of the ROG Xbox Ally X, which runs on Windows without a separate operating system. According to him, this makes sense: Microsoft no longer makes "hardware" or exclusive games, including OS.
"It makes sense since they gave up on [hardware] and exclusive games," Ybarra noted. He added that the company is now a publisher focused on Windows and warned that without Steam, users will simply pirate games.
According to the former head, Steam is successful due to its "seamless experience and excellent return policy," while Windows is "far from perfect." Microsoft's strategy "could work if there are good games and support for Steam, including PS, Nintendo, and PC."
Ybarra emphasized that "only an idiot would continue to make consoles when games are becoming third-party." According to him, to return to exclusives, Microsoft would have to release high-quality "hardware" at a loss, but this is not planned.
The former head also criticized the "This is Xbox" campaign, calling it "the wrong idea at the wrong time." He reminded: "Xbox is about games. If there is no parity with other devices, it's simply not Xbox."