Ex-Microsoft and Blizzard Boss Says Xbox Ditching Consoles and Exclusives Is the Only Smart Move as Gaming Goes Third-Party

Mike Ybarra does not do the diplomatic thing. The former Blizzard president and ex-Xbox exec has been sounding off ever since he left Blizzard in 2024, and after last month’s spicy reply to an Xbox user — 'your console is dead' — he’s back. This time he’s using the ROG Xbox Ally X launch to argue Xbox isn’t really in the console business anymore.

The handheld that kicked this off

An Xbox fan asked Ybarra why the new ROG Xbox Ally X runs Windows instead of a simplified Xbox OS. His answer: because, in his view, Xbox has basically stepped away from what makes a console a console — first-party hardware and true exclusives. He points out that a dedicated, locked-down OS is crucial for console ease of use and security, but if Microsoft is positioning Xbox as a Windows-first publisher, then a Windows handheld makes perfect sense.

He even raised piracy concerns around Windows-based handhelds — his post literally trails off mid-thought on that point — but the gist was clear: if you lean into open PC platforms, you inherit their headaches too.

The bigger picture he’s painting

• Ybarra says Microsoft is acting like a publisher that embraces Windows rather than a traditional console maker.
• He points to Xbox’s recent platform shift: 2024’s Indiana Jones arrived on PS5 a few months after Xbox, and in 2025, Doom: The Dark Ages, The Outer Worlds 2, and Ninja Gaiden 4 are slated to launch on PS5 the same day as Xbox.
• Without exclusive software and a dedicated OS/hardware push, he argues there’s no reason to ship console hardware — and it’s smarter to go all-in on multiplatform if that’s the strategy.

'Only a moron would continue to make console HW when the games all go (or will go) 3rd party.'

What he says it would take to be a console maker again

Ybarra is blunt about the path back: go back to real exclusives, build great hardware at a loss, and try to win the living room. He also says that’s not the route Microsoft is taking. His bigger warning is about trying to live between two worlds — part console platform, part third-party publisher. In his words, it needs a clear call and a clean cut: rip the bandaid off, execute, or risk 'death by a thousand needles.'

And he really isn’t into that new ad campaign

Ybarra also dunked on the 'this is an Xbox' marketing that shows Xbox games running across TVs, phones, even cars via cloud streaming. He says it’s the wrong message at the wrong time. To him, Xbox should be about the games first, and if there isn’t feature and performance parity between the console and every other device, then calling it 'an Xbox' is a stretch. His parting shot: 'whoever came up with this clearly doesn’t play games.'

All of this came in posts on October 19, 2025. It tracks with the tone he set last month with 'your console is dead' — not subtle, definitely pointed, and aimed at the way Xbox is redefining what 'Xbox' even means.