Stratechery (Ben Thompson)
7/8/2026
XBOX Cuts; Bundling and the Internet Solvent; Transaction, Coordination, and Sunk Costs
Short summary
Microsoft's Xbox division is undergoing significant layoffs as the Game Pass subscription strategy has failed to deliver expected results. Ben Thompson frames this within broader themes of bundling dynamics, internet-era coordination costs, and sunk-cost fallacies in platform businesses. The piece connects gaming strategy missteps to wider tech-industry strategic patterns.
- •Xbox layoffs tied to Game Pass strategy failure
- •Broader analysis of bundling and coordination costs in platform businesses
- •Strategic implications for Microsoft's gaming division
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