Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has offered Xbox staff words of reassurance following the exit of previous gaming boss Phil Spencer.
Last month, Microsoft announced a huge shakeup at its gaming business, with Spencer retiring, would-be successor Sarah Bond out, and Asha Sharma drafted in as new Xbox CEO.
Following the news, Seamus Blackley, who co-created Xbox at Microsoft, said that because Xbox is not a core part of Microsoft’s all-encompassing AI push, it was potentially “being sunsetted.” Blackley added that the fact Sharma came over from Microsoft’s AI team with no gaming background was further evidence of the company’s strategy. “They don’t say that, but that’s what’s happening,” Blackley said. “I expect that the new CEO, Asha Sharma, her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night.”
But Nadella has countered that concern by saying Microsoft is “long on gaming.” As reported by Windows Central, last week Sharma and Nadella held an internal Q&A to discuss Microsoft’s gaming strategy. And in it, Nadella said Microsoft will always invest in gaming.
“Phil, he’s always talked to me about how gaming is the largest entertainment category — what is gaming in its most expansive form going forward?” Nadella said. “This doesn’t mean we walk away from people are doing today — when we think about a AAA game on a console. The question is about where else can we go to extend that. For me, we’re long on gaming. We’ll continue to invest, and we’ll always do so. It’s up to this team to show an excellence in execution, and creativity. Software always carries risk, but this is software with lots of creation risk. It’s way different. But yet, we have to be the best-in-class at it.”
Nadella’s comments emerged after Microsoft confirmed the codename for Xbox’s next-generation console – Project Helix – as well as rumors that the device will play Xbox and PC games.
“Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console,” Sharma posted on her Twitter / X account last week. “Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!”
Sharma has already promised to deliver “the return of Xbox,” and, as part of that, has vowed to reengage with core Xbox fans. There was even a promise to commit to console at a time when so many Xbox fans feel disenfranchised with Microsoft’s shifting strategy. As for Nadella, he had previously said he was “long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambition,” countering the doom and gloom.
There is also a question mark over Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy. In a previous interview with Windows Central, Sharma indicated that nothing is off the table when it comes to big decisions about recent controversial policies, one of which is Microsoft’s decision to leave console exclusives behind. Some hardcore Xbox fans are hoping for a return to the policy of old, at a time when even Halo is making the jump to PlayStation.
“Right now, I need to learn, candidly,” Sharma said. “About the ‘why’ of these decisions, what we were optimizing for, and what the data says about the Xbox strategy today. That’s the honest answer. I’m looking at lifetime value, not just what happened in a previous moment, or in short term efficiencies and things like that. The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”
Xbox Games Series Tier List
Xbox Games Series Tier List
Of course, it’s hard to see Microsoft all of a sudden pulling out of multiplatform game releases, especially when its studios have put so much effort into making Microsoft’s policy a reality, and in some cases seen great success on the likes of PlayStation. Halo is coming to PlayStation this year, and that’s unlikely to change.
But it’s worth noting that Sony has recently done just that. Last week, Bloomberg reported that while Sony will continue to release online games on PC, single-player games will now remain console exclusive, marking a significant strategy shift and move away from PC. That means the likes of Saros, Ghost of Yotei, and the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine will remain PlayStation 5 exclusives and not release on PC.
Bloomberg suggested poor recent sales of PlayStation games on PC and the risk to the PlayStation brand, as well as a potential impact on PS5 and maybe even PS6 sales, were to blame for the policy shift. Meanwhile, there’s also the suggestion that the prospect of PlayStation games running on the next Xbox via expected Steam integration may have also encouraged Sony’s return to console exclusives.
Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
