I think this is quite possible. There have always been a lot of people in MS who disliked the Xbox product line because the brand, as a whole over its lifetime, has never been profitable, despite instances of profit at different points. One major force behind the persistence of Xbox I think was the vision originally put forward by Bill Gates of the smart, fully connected home with a hub acting as the nerve center. I think Xbox was meant to head in that direction, becoming a hub rather than just a gaming device. But with those elements of Xbox One failing to impress and more and more multimedia features being absorbed into smart TVs, I think MS is about ready to give up on the hub notion. With those two points in mind, there may be a sentiment in the upper echelon that staying in the hardware business serves no practical purpose. A lot of people wave off the losses Xbone is causing with the reasoning that MS is wealthy and can absorb the losses so it's not a big deal. The truth is the opposite: MS is wealthy and stable today because throughout their history they have considered sustained losses in departments a very big deal. I think we just may be at a tipping point for the bosses at MS where Xbox is concerned.
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