'Xbox Is Being Sunsetted' — Seamus Blackley, One of the Creators of Xbox, Thinks Recent Shakeup Spells the End for Microsoft's Gaming Business - IGN

Amid the official statements and many tweets that followed one of the biggest shakeups ever at Xbox, one of its creators believes Microsoft’s true plan is to bring its gaming business to an end.

Seamus Blackley co-created Xbox at Microsoft, bringing to life Microsoft’s console hardware in 2001 before leaving just a year later. He has watched his former company hit the headlines as Phil Spencer and would-be successor Sarah Bond announced their exit. And in a new interview, he revealed what he believes to be new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's actual mission — which sounds like nothing good for Xbox fans.

Speaking to GamesBeat, Blackley said that Xbox is not a core part of Microsoft’s all-encompassing AI push, and so “is being sunsetted.” Drafting in Sharma, who Blackley points out came from Microsoft’s AI team with no gaming background, is further evidence of the company’s true strategy, he claimed. “They don’t say that, but that’s what’s happening,” he went on. “I expect that the new CEO, Asha Sharma, her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night.”