Xbox's Game Pass bubble has burst. This doesn't mean the whole thing will come tumbling down, but the IDEA of Game Pass that Phil Spencer was shilling has come crashing into the practical realities of the service.

All these acquisitions were made while GP was still growing rapidly, which created the speculation necessary to keep these mega-investments and acquisitions going, and it's not anymore. The torrent has slowed to a creek, merely "dependable" instead of "ever rising".

Combined with the actual money changing hands now from these mega-mergers and acquisitions, and Microsoft now needs profitability, which more than anything else is what's burst that bubble.

Phil promised something that IDEALLY could provide that, but in the real world can't ACTUALLY provide that on the scale Microsoft now needs.

They overinvested, and now 9000 more employees have been left holding the bag.

They won't be the last.