🙂↔️ Xbox CEO Asha Sharma clarified that Microsoft has no plans to sell its gaming division
👍 Sharma has steered the brand back on track by returning to console exclusives and user-friendly initiatives
📈 Despite structural changes and job cuts, Xbox remains committed to a long-term future within Microsoft
😀 Overall sentiment around Xbox is improving as it prepares for the next console generation
The Xbox division appeared to be on life support earlier this year, leading many to wonder whether Microsoft would cut ties with its gaming division altogether and sell it off to the highest bidder. Not so, according to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
Sharma, who has done a remarkable job at course-correcting the Xbox brand from the pit of abyss and into clearer waters, has squashed rumors that Microsoft will cash in on its once imperious gaming brand.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sharma said: “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.”
Under Sharma’s short leadership, Xbox has returned to console exclusives with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution, lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, introduced several fan-requested features – like Mythic Achievements – and rolled out the consumer-friendly disc-to-digital program.
However, there have been countless job cuts, studio reshuffles, and structural changes in the background to compensate for many years of failure. When asked if Xbox would spin off into its own independent company, Sharma said: “We’ve got a long way to go with Microsoft, and we’re going to take the long-term view.”
Xbox’s great reset continues, as Sharma has been blunt about the state of Microsoft’s gaming division in the past and said it didn’t do enough to “compete and win”. While decisions have been made that affect countless livelihoods, the overall feeling around the brand is more positive than it has been in quite some time, and Sharma appears to be setting Xbox back up for success ahead of the next-generation of consoles and Project Helix.
Up next: Gears of War: E-Day review roundup: ‘the best the combat has felt in twenty years’
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.