Long-time Xbox collaborator and executive producer on several Microsoft projects, Laura Fryer, posted a lengthy video criticizing some of the company’s current decisions.
In a video posted to her YouTube channel on June 28th, 2025, Fryer raised concerns about Microsoft’s hardware ambitions, recent acquisitions and closures, and potential price increases, saying the company’s strategy has been “chaotic.” However, Fryer’s main focal point seemed to be that the Xbox, as Microsoft’s in-house hardware, was dead.
When talking about the Xbox and ROG partnership—relating to the newly announced Xbox ROG Ally—Fryer said, “I’m sad, because from my perspective, it looks like Xbox has no desire or literally can’t ship hardware anymore.” She went on to say, “So this partnership is about a slow exit from the hardware business completely.”
However, Fryer also had a lot of questions about the value of the Xbox ROG Ally, summed up best by her saying, “People don’t buy your new hardware if there’s no reason to,” which she mentioned in relation to a story of the creation of the original Xbox. Fryer brought up several excellent points about the system’s cost, speculating that maybe Xbox and ROG might undercut the market by offering the Xbox ROG Ally at an affordable price.
However, this would be unlikely, as she points out, “Remember, the Xbox ROG Ally is essentially a reskin of an existing product. Their cheapest version of the ROG Ally is around $600,” going on to say, “The ROG Ally has already been through this process, so it’s very unlikely the price is going to be the thing that they will be able to lower. It’s unlikely to be the thing that brings gamers to buying the handheld.”
However, the main reason gamers typically purchase a piece of hardware is for its games, and even on this point, Fryer states that Microsoft hasn’t offered any real incentive to purchase. “Delivering a killer game in a reasonable time frame isn’t something Xbox is particularly good at right now,” Fryer said, continuing, “During the showcase, there were several games still in development that weren’t even mentioned, like State of Decay 3, Perfect Dark, and Fable. And many of these games have been in development for over five years.”
Fryer stated bluntly, “Xbox doesn’t do exclusives anymore.” Not only that, she criticized Microsoft’s new “Xbox Anywhere” initiative, suggesting it wouldn’t matter if they did since gamers would be able to play it on a PC, PlayStation 5, or even the Nintendo Switch. As Fryer says, “The Xbox Anywhere message sounds great on the surface, but in reality, it’s just marketing.”
Fryer has a deep connection to the industry, working as one of the first members of Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) in 1995, the Director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group in 2000, General Manager of Seattle Division of Epic Games in 2001, and She was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 12 Most Influential Women in Gaming” and one of Next Generation’s “Game Industry’s 100 Most Influential Women”.
