“I know we can achieve this goal”
Xbox wants to “entertain more than a billion people per day” as it moves forward with a dramatically downsized workforce.
In a memo, CEO Asha Sharma said she “knows” the company can achieve this goal, and that today’s changes are part of a “bigger future for Xbox, not a smaller one”.
She said: “The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates.”
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Exactly how she intends to achieve this goal is not outlined in her memo, but it’s unlikely to be achieved through the vector of a single console alone. As a reminder, the Xbox Series X|S is estimated to have sold around ~35 million units globally.
Sharma did touch on multiformat publishing in her letter, something the division has been walking back with console exclusivity confirmed for both Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution.
She explained:
“We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multiplatform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history.”
I don’t really see any indication of how Sharma intends to reach a billion players in her memo, although I’d assume it involves deeper expansion into mobile and PC.
As of around 2025, Microsoft reported 500m monthly active users, but this number obviously includes any active Xbox login, from Solitaire through to Candy Crush. I’d assume that’s its path, although doubling the number won’t be straightforward.
