Xbox Plans 3 More Layoff Waves — and a $1,800 Console
Update, Oct. 22: The fine print on the $1,800 number matters. Fortune's report puts Project Helix's $1,200–$1,800 as Microsoft's INTERNAL cost estimate — not a confirmed retail price — and says Microsoft hasn't committed to subsidizing it; without a subsidy, it takes the margin hit on software and Game Pass instead (Beebom, Analytics Insight, Phandroid). The memory-shortage angle now has detail: Microsoft raised Xbox prices on Aug. 1 (Series X $649.99→$799.99) blaming component costs up more than 2.5x, and expects them to double again by fall 2027, with AI data centers soaking up DRAM and NAND supply. And it's not just jobs and hardware — Fortune reports Game Pass is being redesigned as an à-la-carte menu (cloud gaming, online multiplayer, console library sold separately), alongside a 2027 handheld and the Helix console targeted for holiday 2028. Xbox is done being polite about the reset. CEO Asha Sharma, the executive who has spent the last nine months dismantling...