The Xbox creator thought It was all over, when the Xbox One was launched

Xbox One

When the Xbox One was released in 2013, Seamus Blackley, one of the Xbox creators and designers, expressed concern that "it was over."

Seamus Blackley is one of the Xbox's creators and designers who feared that the brand would die at the time Xbox One was released. When the Xbox One was first announced, it was met with immediate and scathing criticism from gamers. Microsoft mostly concentrated on entertainment features, TV content (many of which amounted to little in the end), and displayed very few games during their pre-E3 announcement show. Although there were titles at the Xbox One E3 event, they were all overshadowed by a complicated DRM system, the requirement to use Kinect, and the $500 price tag. It was not favorably received.

Microsoft introduced a new six-part Xbox documentary in December that covered the console's long history. The documentary made it clear that the Xbox One's early days were a low thing for the company, and that the official reveal was a total mess. After Phil Spencer took over as CEO of Xbox, things started to look up, with things like Xbox Game Pass, backward compatibility, and big acquisitions. As a result, many people thought that when Xbox One was announced, it would be the end of the Xbox brand.

Seamus Blackley is the developer of the Xbox, stated that at that time, he was worried "it was over" when the Xbox One was released. Surprisingly, the official Xbox Twitter account responded with a tweet that echoed his feelings, indicating the extent to which the Xbox One launch was seen as a failure. Needless to say, these were difficult times for the company, and it's incredible that they were able to recover. With news like Rainbow Six Extraction arriving on Xbox Game Pass on day one, the platform is proving to be a market leader.

You and us both, Dad.

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 8, 2022

 It's difficult to imagine how Xbox would have fared if it hadn't departed from its original path. It's possible that the first version of the console would have worked in practice if people had had the opportunity to see it in operation, but no one will ever know. In the months leading up to the introduction of the Xbox One, Microsoft worked to address the complaints that fans had. One can only imagine how different the brand would have been if it had stuck with the vilified console in its original form.

In that case, things like Xbox acquiring big studios like Bethesda might not have happened, and Xbox Game Pass might never have materialized. It's an exciting "what if" scenario with far-reaching implications for the whole game industry. Xbox, on the other hand, appears to have effectively navigated those stormy seas.