Xbox Laid off Disc Department; Pointing To Death of Physical Games

Expert Verified By

Xbox Expected To Go All-Digital Soon!

Story Highlights
  • Xbox laid off 1,900 employees in the last 24 hours.
  • The entire physical game distribution department has been shut down.
  • This could be a sign of an all-digital future for Xbox.

The last 24 hours have been chaotic for Xbox, to say the least. Following its merger with Activision Blizzard, the industry had high hopes for the future of Microsoft’s gaming business, but the gaming giant announced devastating news hours ago.

Amid layoffs impacting 1,900 employees, major studios like Sledgehammer Games have been hit extremely hard. However, Microsoft’s physical games department appears to have been completely wiped off, pointing to an all-digital future for Xbox.

Why it matters: Physical media, in general, appears to be on its way out. However, such decisions could accelerate what many fear will be the death of physical game discs.

Microsoft’s layoffs have been extremely hectic, leading to new information each passing hour. Amid the chaos, journalists like Jez Corden and Jason Schreier have kept everyone informed with the latest updates.

Jez Corden has stated that the layoffs extend to nearly all facets of Xbox’s gaming business. Departments like QA and retail have been hit harder than others, wiping off the workers dedicated to bringing Xbox games to physical discs.

He clarifies that this does not mean Xbox will suddenly stop shipping physical discs tomorrow. However, looking at the industry’s trends, Microsoft’s recent leaks, and the general push toward Game Pass, Xbox might not have much of a physical presence by the next generation.

According to leaks, Microsoft’s next console will be an all-digital Xbox Series X. The next-generation console will also ship with a prominent focus on Cloud gaming, making such reports even more believable.

Elsewhere, one of Microsoft’s flagship first-party titles, Hellblade 2, will be launched as a digital-only title. All of these measures might be an effort to cut costs from Xbox.

Xbox Series S

The report points out that Xbox could still outsource this part of its business. However, it is easy to read the room and deduce the general implications of such decisions moving forward.

Physical media has been losing its importance over time, but there is still a dedicated audience fond of physical games. The CEO of GameStop also believes the option of physical games should always exist, but Xbox may be the first to break away from this trend.

Featured Image Credit: Windows Central

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

Battlefield 6 Hits 7x Higher Player Count Peak Than Battlefield 2042 One Hour After Launch

Battlefield 6 is already a major hit and is now the biggest entry of the IP across all platforms, including Steam.

Battlefield 6 Is An Instant Hit At Launch; Gamers Stuck In Queue of Over 400K Players

Battlefield 6 has come out swinging at launch, but players seem to be stuck in long queues on day one of the game.

New Cyberpunk Spin-Off Game Takes Inspiration From Arkham Horror Card Game

Talking with Tech4Gamers, Cyberpunk Legends: Into the Night lead designer said that Arkham Horror was the inspiration behind the game.

Battlefield 6 Devs Confirm That The Game Won’t Be Using Any Generative AI

DICE devs have confirmed that Battlefield 6 doesn't use any generative AI, but they do want to use the tech in the future.

Black Ops 7: RX 9070 XT Outperforms RTX 5070 Ti by 31% at 1440p

New testing reveals that the Radeon RX 9070 XT is, on average, 31% faster in performance than the RTX 5070 Ti.