Microsoft have confirmed that after 10 years of production and 85 million units sold, they will now cease to manufacture the Xbox 360.
In a blog post, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, said that gamers had completed over 78 billion hours of play on the device.
He added that Xbox 360’s will continue to be sold, and existing users would still be able to use the platform and its servers will remain online.
“Xbox 360 helped redefine an entire generation of gaming at Microsoft. I am incredibly proud of all of the work and dedication that went into development of the Xbox 360 hardware, services and games portfolio over the last decade,” he wrote. “While we’ve had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us.”
Last year Microsoft enabled Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for select games on its latest console, the Xbox One, allowing users to play Xbox 360 games on its successor.
On hearing the news, gamers have paid tribute to the console on social media, sharing their gaming nostalgia and favourite games over the years.
“Goodnight sweet prince. Gone but never forgotten,” one user posted.
“I’m grateful to the fans for their continued passion and support,” Spencer added.
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