Xbox Founder Laura Fryer Criticizes Current Xbox Direction and Price Hikes, Calling It “Greed Over Gaming”

One of the founding figures behind the original Xbox, Laura Fryer, has released a new video on her YouTube channel voicing her concerns about the current state of Xbox, particularly following the recent Xbox Game Pass price increases and the rising cost of consoles. Fryer did not hold back in her criticism, accusing the company’s leadership of being disconnected from both players and developers.

In the video, Fryer describes the current Xbox leadership as existing in a “bubble” and says that the recent Microsoft video announcing the price hike was “tone-deaf.” She argues that it serves as “further confirmation that the bubble at Xbox is real,” adding that, “Leadership doesn’t understand what made them great. That ‘yes man’ culture that took over in 2008 has only gotten worse, and this is the result, a crazy price increase for their fans, after announcing that Game Pass had made five billion dollars.”

Fryer reflected on what she believes Xbox has lost in recent years: a dedicated console identity, first-party exclusives that defined the brand, and strong developer partnerships that once helped shape the platform’s success.

“Xbox wasn’t created to sell hardware. It was about creating a closed loop where Xbox owned the customer relationship and the developer relationship. It was bigger than just one product,” she explained.

She also criticized the company’s current brand strategy, arguing that the “This is an Xbox” slogan has eroded the brand’s value rather than strengthened it.

“It was meant to be an inclusive message where everyone is welcome, but it ended up hollowing out the brand, because if everything is an Xbox, then nothing really is.”

While Fryer acknowledged that she understands the business motivations behind the company’s shift toward cloud gaming and subscription services like Game Pass, she believes the current leadership “doesn’t understand players or developers.” She described many of Xbox’s recent decisions as the result of executives “just trying things,” rather than following a clear vision.

“I can’t say for sure where this is headed. It appears that Xbox is moving towards cloud gaming and away from hardware. But it also could be that they’re just incompetent, that they just don’t understand what they’re doing, and they’re trying things.”

Fryer, who left Microsoft years ago, admits in the video that she and the original Xbox team often felt uncertain themselves during the console’s early days. However, she insists that the original team’s passion and collaboration with game developers were the foundation of the Xbox brand’s success, values she feels have been lost under the current direction.

Her comments have sparked significant discussion among fans and developers alike, many of whom share concerns about Xbox’s increased focus on subscription services at the expense of hardware identity and first-party exclusives.

Do you agree with Laura Fryer’s take on Xbox’s current direction? Has the focus on Game Pass and cloud gaming damaged the brand’s identity? Let us know your thoughts.