Over this weekend, several Reddit users reported that Target and Walmart, two of the largest retailers in the United States, were effectively removing Xbox products from physical stores. The report caught like wildfire among the Xbox fanbase, especially following the previous news that another big retailer, Costco, had already done just that last month.
However, eventually, other reports to the contrary started appearing on the Web by sources like YouTuber Destin Legarie, who tweeted:
I just called my local Walmart to ask if they were discontinuing or pulling Xbox stock. They said, "at least to my knowledge, I haven't heard anything about clearing inventory or anything like that. Or about being discontinued." They also said they still have them in stock. I also called Target to ask if they were pulling or discontinuing Xbox stock. The person working there told me… "There's nothing in our system showing anything being discontinued. But we also haven't had a shipment in about a week. It says we have the next one on October 19th, but just for 1. Nothing is saying discontinued."
Windows Central also conducted its own investigation and later even managed to get Microsoft to comment on the issue with the following statement:
Target and Walmart, among other retailers, remain committed partners for Xbox consoles, accessories, and games.
Microsoft appears to always be rushing to extinguish some kind of PR fire. Then again, it is largely its own fault, for its constant strategy shifts have baffled the Xbox fanbase to the point where they are willing to believe any kind of rumor.
Following many studio closures and layoff rounds, the latest blow to the Xbox brand's reputation came in the form of the massive Xbox Game Pass restructuring announced last week. The Ultimate tier suffered a huge 50% price hike, and the new middle tier, called Premium, won't ever get Call of Duty games. All this was even more egregious after executives had boasted that Game Pass was already profitable and had just reached a new revenue record in the last fiscal year.
Needless to say, users assaulted the Xbox Game Pass cancellation page, overwhelming it with requests for a while. Analysts are worried that the damage to the brand might be lasting, especially because of the sense of broken trust.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
