As part of Microsoft's massive workforce reduction announced earlier today, the Redmond-based company is also streamlining a handful of portfolio and engineering development efforts across its Xbox team.
One such casualty is Xbox Entertainment Studios, a division created in 2012 dedicated to producing original programming for Xbox Live. According to an internal memo from recently-appointed Xbox chief Phil Spencer, it'll be shut down in the coming months.
The first piece of original content, a soccer-themed interactive mini-series called Every Street United, debuted last month under the Xbox Originals banner. At the time, Microsoft committed to a dozen projects but given today's news, it's unlikely that most of those will ever see the light of day.
Spencer did, however, confirm that a few projects already in production will continue as planned. These include a documentary series called Signal to Noise whose first episode will cover the rise and fall of Atari as well as Halo: Nightfall and the live-action Halo television series. The latter is being produced by Steven Spielberg with help from 343 Industries.
One has to wonder how this change will affect the overall strategy behind the Xbox One, a device that was initially marketed as more of an entertainment hub than a hardcore game console. That decision certainly ruffled the feathers of some but we're curious to hear what you think.
Do you believe Microsoft is making the right decision by shifting the Xbox One back to a gaming-first device?