Xbox’s new chief strategy officer Matthew Ball says he was asked a direct question about the brand’s future by recently-installed CEO Asha Sharma: “Is it fixable?”
The blunt query puts into focus the pivotal spot Xbox currently finds itself in: way behind Sony and Nintendo in terms of hardware sales this generation, as external pressures impacting the future of consoles continue to ramp up.
Last night, Sharma published a stark appraisal of Xbox’s current status, prompting speculation that a wave of layoffs now seemed inevitable to cut costs.
Ball, a veteran industry analyst, was hired by Sharma last month. Within the video games industry, Ball is known for his popular annual state of video gaming report, and also previously served a successful stint at Amazon Prime, during which time the streamer developed hit series such as Fallout, The Boys and Rings of Power.
At Xbox, Ball has been hired to strengthen the business and advise on how best to approach the company’s plans for its next-generation console Project Helix in light of current component shortages.
“When I sat down with Asha for the first time, she asked me: ‘Is it fixable?'” Ball said this week during an interview with The Game Business. “I’m a strategic optimist. I think it is incredibly defeatist to think that there’s any scenario that you can’t do better, that you can’t improve.
“How hard is it? Different question. What’s it going to take? Different question. How long is it going to take? Those are all different questions, but I am a strategic optimist. I joined because what she told me she wanted to achieve, I believed was right and achievable.”
Well, that sounds like a yes — even if it may not be painless to get there. Over the past 100 days, Sharma has made sweeping changes to Game Pass prices and Call of Duty availablility, and reignited the debate around console exclusives by ring-fencing Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. When the business is “healthy,” she has said, Xbox “will look to try and do more.”
Xbox Games Series Tier List
Xbox Games Series Tier List
Other changes have seen a reshuffle of Xbox executives, a renewed push for console feature updates, plus the ending of Copilot AI development for Xbox consoles and the controversial “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign.
Sharma’s next 100 days will focus on a “reset” for the business, the CEO has said — and many are now bracing for layoffs after the division’s disappointing 3% accountability margin was flagged publicly.
Many now expect Xbox to double down on its biggest franchises — Halo, Forza, Gears of War — and re-examine its studio portfolio, with small developers potentially at risk. Last night, a Bloomberg report stated that job losses are expected in July, alongside cuts to marketing budgets and other areas of the business.
“We just shared with our team the realities we need to navigate as we work to reset the Xbox business,” Sharma wrote on X/Twitter last night. “We won’t succeed by hiding hard truths, nor will we succeed by doing the same thing and expecting different results.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
