Xbox Isn’t Going Anywhere: Microsoft Doubles Down on Next-Gen First-Party Consoles — For Now

If you spent the weekend doomscrolling takes about Xbox bailing on consoles to go full cloud, take a breath. That rumor blew up fast, but Microsoft says that is not what is happening — at least not right now.

Where the buzz came from

A well-known leaker who goes by SneakerSO posted on NeoGAF with a pretty bleak read on Xbox hardware. In short, he said the internal milestones you would expect ahead of a new console generation weren’t being hit, and concluded the brand’s future lives in software and the cloud rather than boxes under your TV.

• He framed cloud gaming as the home of the 'Xbox platform' going forward.
• He claimed Game Pass would morph into the main gateway for xCloud access — and that Microsoft’s recent Game Pass price hike won’t be the last.
• He also said Microsoft would publish its games on basically any device with a storefront and people ready to buy.

That combo — missed next-gen steps, rising subscription prices, and an everything-everywhere software push — made the story spread fast.

Microsoft pushes back

Windows Central checked in with its 'trusted sources' at Microsoft and was told the chatter isn’t the plan — 'at least for now.' Microsoft also issued an on-the-record statement to the outlet, and it is about as direct as you could hope:

"We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered, and built by Xbox. For more details, the community can revisit our agreement announcement with AMD."

That AMD bit refers to a multi-year deal the two companies announced earlier this year — widely read at the time as a sign Microsoft still cares about console hardware. The company is clearly pointing back to it as proof the toolbox isn’t being packed up.

Why the rumor felt believable

This is where the inside baseball comes in. Even former Microsoft exec and ex-Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra piled on recently. After fresh headlines about PlayStation 5’s success, he bluntly told Xbox fans 'your console is dead.' He also brought up the ROG Ally handheld and urged Microsoft to 'pick your lane and stick to it,' saying it’s 'tough to see Xbox confused about who it is and what it should be.' Pair that vibe with Game Pass getting more expensive — which Microsoft tried to justify after the latest hike — and you can see why people were ready to believe the cloud-only narrative.

So, where does that leave us?

For now: don’t list your Series X on eBay. Microsoft says it’s still building Xbox hardware and investing in first-party devices, and it’s pointing to an active AMD partnership as backup. The 'at least for now' caveat is doing some work — strategies evolve — and yes, cloud and subscriptions are still a huge part of Xbox’s future. But the company isn’t walking away from consoles today. Xbox fans are still here, Xbox exclusives still exist, and the next box isn’t being memory-holed just yet.