Microsoft Report Has Fans Worried About the End of Physical Xbox Games

Today, Microsoft laid off 1,900 members from it various gaming teams, with most of the losses believed to be under the roof of Activision Blizzard, a company it only recently acquired. In the process, at least one game — a new survival game out of Blizzard — has been cancelled. Coupling this, some high-ranking members of Activision Blizzard are gone, including Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra.  There’s much more to the layoffs than this, but many of these details are only starting to surface. To this end, it is being reported by Windows Central reporter, Jez Corden, that Microsoft has shut down entire departments dedicated to bringing Xbox games to retail. In other words, departments dedicated to shipping physical copies of games. 

“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,” reads a tweet from Corden on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

As Corden alludes to, this not only comes on the back of leaks pointing to Xbox’s next console being digital-only, but comes on the back of Walmart seemingly purging retail Xbox games from its shelves. If you play your Xbox games digitally, none of this will concern you, at least not up front. If you buy your Xbox games physically, well this is all becoming very concerning, albeit not very surprising based on market trends. 

While none of this impacts digital gamers up front, it could impact them on the back end. If there is no physical market to compete with on price, digital game sales could become less frequent and less potent, making the expensive hobby even more expensive. That said, remember this information has not been verified. Corden is typically a reliable source though when it comes to Xbox, and during layoffs information floods out. In other words, expect to hear more about this soon. In the meantime, Xbox fans in the replies to Corden’s tweet are already fearing the worst or, more specifically, the end of Xbox releasing its games physically. Of course, if this happens, it will be gradual and not universal, as Corden clarifies in another tweet.

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At the moment of publishing, none of this information has attracted any type of comment from Xbox or any of the implicated parties underneath it, such as Activision Blizzard and Bethesda. If this changes, we will be sure to update the story accordingly.