In a statement on the Gamerscoreblog John Porcaro, Sr. Group Manager in Microsoft’s Global Games Marketing Team, said that Microsoft will "no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360", but will "continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market".

The move follows the collapsing of HD-DVD in the high-definition format war with Sony’s Blu-ray. After Warner, Best Buy, Walmart and Netflix jumped on the Blu-Ray bandwagon, the fate of HD DVD was already sealed.

The statement reiterated Microsoft’s belief that its withdrawal from HD-DVD will not have an impact on the success of the Xbox 360, pointing towards its digital distribution offering and support for standard definition DVDs.

It reads: "As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own."