Microsoft today issued an alert regarding the coronavirus and how its spread has already and will continue to impact the company’s business going forward. In a news release, Microsoft said it expects the More Personal Computing division–which includes Xbox–to make less money during the quarter than previously projected.
Microsoft said in January that it expected the More Personal Computing business unit to make between $10.75 billion and $11.15 billion for the current quarter. However, the company is now telling analysts and investors to expect a number below even the low-end of projections due to the coronavirus.
Microsoft’s supply chain is “returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated,” the company said. Due to this, the company isn’t expecting to make as much money. The Windows OEM and Surface categories were specifically called out as being “more negatively impacted than previously anticipated.”
There was no mention of Xbox in the news release. A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment on an earlier inquiry from GameSpot regarding the impact of the coronavirus on the manufacturing and production of Xbox consoles.
“As the conditions evolve, Microsoft will act to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers, and partners during this difficult period,” Microsoft said in the news release. “We will also continue to partner with local and global health authorities to provide additional assistance. We deeply appreciate the commitment of the people and organizations that have united to address this health emergency; our thoughts are with all those affected across the world.”
Microsoft’s other business units are not expected to be impacted.
The Xbox–and rival PlayStation–are manufactured in China, so it’s understandable that many are wondering if the virus will impact the production of new consoles. That’s a very big question in 2020, as the Xbox Series X and PS5 are both scheduled to launch this year, so production on those consoles would presumably ramp up well ahead of launch.
The coronvirus impacted the production of iPhones so much that Apple is expecting there to be shortages for a period of time.
