“Xbox is not for sale” – Asha Sharma denies Xbox “sell off” rumours

Xbox refutes Microsoft Divestment Rumours – “Xbox is not for sale”

In an interview with The New York Times, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma officially denied reports that Microsoft plans to spin out or sell its Xbox division. Right now, Xbox is in the middle of a “reset”, and this reset has seen Microsoft issue mass layoffs, reorganise studio leadership, and attempt to sell studios. Several game studios have officially left Xbox, with Compulsion, Double Fine, and Undead Labs becoming independent. Other studios face closure, like Ninja Theory and Arkane.

With Xbox’s restructuring, Xbox aims to become a smaller, more focused, and more profitable buisness. Several bold moves will change some of Xbox’s biggest franchises. This includes moving Halo to Activision, allowing them to define the franchise’s future with a new team. Halo Studios is being downsized and will only support existing Halo games moving forward. Obsidian is being placed under Bethesda’s management, and Turn 10 and Playground Games are merging.

Long-term, Xbox plans to become a more focused organisation, focusing on larger franchises and less on smaller experimental games. In the short term, this means pain for Xbox, with mass layoffs and organisational restructuring hitting game developers hard. That said, Xbox needs big changes to succeed, especially as it moves towards a new console generation.

Xbox is not for sale. […] We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success, and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model and everything needed to achieve that. […] We’ve got a long way to go with Microsoft and we’re going to take the long-term view

– Xbox CEO Asha Sharma (via Windows Central)

Can Xbox succeed?

If Xbox is to succeed, it cannot continue as it is. The 343 Industries/Halo Studios era of Halo has not been successful, and placing the series under Activision makes sense. While recent Call of Duty titles have been hit-or-miss, Activision makes highly successful FPS games. Furthermore, it knows how to support multiplayer shooters and how to release games at a consistent pace. With a new team, Xbox could make Halo relevant again. Let’s face it, the past decade has been a bad time for Halo fans.

Right now, the future of things like Xbox Game Pass is also unclear. Xbox Game Pass isn’t the success Xbox needed, and its day-1 first-party game support undermines the value of Xbox games. Perhaps Game Pass may receive the axe in the future. If not, it may receive a dramatic alteration. Beyond that, Xbox needs to learn the value of exclusives. While releasing games on PlayStation is profitable in the short term, it undermines the Xbox platform. If all Xbox games come to PlayStation, why buy an Xbox?

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