Asha Sharma, the new boss of Xbox, has reportedly warned staff that “hard choices” are ahead as Microsoft works to rebuild its gaming brand in the eyes of core fans while growing revenue.
Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as boss of Xbox earlier this year, has spent her first few months in the job making a number of significant changes as Microsoft works to win back the hearts and minds of its core gaming fans. Among them was the end of the controversial ‘This is an Xbox’ marketing campaign, as well as quickfire new Xbox console features.
The Verge (paywall) reported on an internal memo sent to Xbox staff that discussed the recent efforts to rebrand Xbox (officially it’s XBOX now, not Xbox). And in doing so said Microsoft would be more “delibrate” in what it’s doing in gaming.
“We are building a stronger XBOX,” Sharma reportedly said. “That means making hard choices about what we build, where we invest, and what kind of company we need to be going forward. That is part of what you are starting to see in the shift from Xbox to XBOX. It reflects a decision to be deliberate in how we show up for the players who care most about this brand.”
But what does this mean, exactly? It seems unlikely that it signals a reversal in Microsoft’s next-gen console push, given the company talked about Project Helix as recently as earlier in May. To me, it sounds more like Microsoft is thinking about making difficult decisions on video games it’s building and the studios making them. Microsoft has a vast network of first-party developers, even before you factor in all the Bethesda and Activision Blizzard studios. Could those “hard choices” have to do with cancelations?
Whatever the case, Sharma insisted that recent changes to Xbox Game Pass have moved the needle. Microsoft cut the price of the subscription after raising it last year, and stripped out Call of Duty as a day-one launch title, instead adding in new Call of Duty games, such as this year’s Modern Warfare 4, 12 months later.
“Growth slowed down and subscriber loss accelerated after the pricing and SKU changes last year,” Sharma said. “Since our price reduction we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step.”
Could “hard choices” have to do with exclusives? Earlier this month, it was reported that Sharma was “treading carefully” as she worked out what to do with exclusive games. But Microsoft has said it will “reevaluate our approach to exclusivity,” a tantalizing tease particularly for core fans who feel Xbox consoles have been devalued amid the company’s multiplatform push in recent years. Indded, a return to Xbox exclusives topped the recently launched ‘XBOX Player Voice’ platform.
Microsoft is set to reveal what’s coming next from Xbox at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7. There we will get a look at Gears of War: E-Day, the DMZ mode in Modern Warfare 4, and hopefully a lot more. We’ll have a much better idea of Sharma’s plan following that showcase, as the current generation of consoles heads towards its sixth birthday.
Image credit: Microsoft.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
