Xbox CEO: We Will Consider Changes To Exclusivity

The new top boss at Xbox, Asha Sharma, continues to shake things up at the gaming giant. During a town hall meeting with staff today, she informed workers that the "Microsoft Gaming" moniker is going away. In the future, Microsoft will return to calling its gaming division "Xbox." Sharma also laid out her vision for the future of Xbox, and that includes potentially making changes to exclusivity.

"Xbox needs to be our identity," Sharma said. Microsoft shared a memo from Sharma and Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty on the company's blog. The Verge was first to report on this.

"Our best work happens when the full stack moves together. 'Microsoft Gaming' describes our structure but it does not describe our ambition. So, we are going back to where we started and changing our team's name," the memo said.

Microsoft adopted the Microsoft Gaming name in 2022 as part of its announcement of a blockbuster $75.4 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard. Phil Spencer was the first Microsoft Gaming CEO.

"We have work to do"

Also in the memo, Sharma and Booty made it clear that, "We have work to do."

"Players are frustrated," Sharma and Booty said. "New feature drops on console have been less frequent. Our presence on PC isn't strong enough. Pricing is getting harder for people to keep up with. And core experiences like search, discovery, social, and personalization still feel too fragmented. Developers and publishers are asking for more, too: better tools, better insights, and a platform that helps them grow faster."

The memo continued: "At the same time, a new generation of players is coming online with different expectations. Their time is split across games, media, and everything else competing for attention. They expect more content in familiar places, want to shape the worlds they play in, and want to create and socialize together, not just play together. These changes are happening as the industry reshapes around us."

Sharma and Booty also signaled changes to come as part of the changing landscape of games. "The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward," they said.

While the console space "remains large and stable" for Xbox, they said, gaming on Windows now makes up "more players and more hours and is increasingly where competition is most intense."

"Players have access to more games than ever, even as the cost and time to build blockbuster titles continues to rise, putting pressure on what gets made and how risk is taken. Some of the biggest recent hits are coming from small teams or even single creators, and places like Roblox are producing experiences that rival major franchises in scale. More players are also choosing subscriptions and services as their primary way to play, with expectations set around instant access, ongoing value, and libraries that evolve continuously," they explained.

The memo went on to say the gaming industry is "global and competitive," and that more than half of the revenue, players, and growth comes from areas outside of Microsoft's "core markets."

"But the rest of the world is not just a large market. Developers there are increasingly competing with the most established Western studios, combining scale, speed, and a willingness to reinvent genres many once considered mature," the memo said.

"Console is the foundation"

Sharma and Booty said their ambition for Xbox going forward is to "build a global platform that connects players and creators everywhere," with the console serving as the "foundation" for the "premium" experience.

"Xbox will be built to be affordable, personal, and open," the memo stated. "We will offer flexible pricing so it's easy to get started and keep playing. The experience will adapt to you, letting you customize how you play, helping you find what you’ll love, and connecting you with the right people. And we will be open to all creators, from individuals to the largest studios, giving anyone the tools to reach a global audience and keep their games growing over time."

Sharma and Booty said the "north star" for Xbox going forward will be "active players," and to get there, the pair said they will focus on hardware, content, experiences, and services.

Here is what Sharma and Booty had to say on those three fronts:

Hardware

• Stabilize Gen9 as a healthy and high-quality base

• Deliver Project Helix to lead in performance and play your console and PC games

• Lead in comfortable, personal, high-performance accessories

• Build a strong ecosystem that expands choice and reach

Content

• Grow and extend an enduring portfolio of franchises players love
• Evolve our 3P partnerships and strengthen our 5-year slate
• Expand into China, emerging markets, and mobile-first audiences
• Maintain and grow in live games and long-term stewardship
• Elevate creator-centric platforms like Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, and Sea of Thieves

Experience

• Fix the fundamentals for players and partners
• Make Xbox the best place for developers and creators to build and grow
• Overhaul discovery, customization, social and personalization to connect the community

Services

• Fortify Game Pass with clear differentiation and sustainable economics
• Return the business to durable growth with strong cost discipline
• Make cloud play feel native, fast, and reliable across TVs and low-cost devices
• Use M&A deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow

Exclusives

Also in the memo, Sharma and Booty said they will "re-evaluate" the approach to exclusivity, which could mean a lot of things. Fans have called on Microsoft to return to exclusive games, but it remains to be seen if that will happen. Sharma and Booty also said they will consider changing things up in regards to "windowing," which followed on from a report that said some other games beyond Call of Duty titles could be kept out of Game Pass at launch and for a period of time, similar to how movies are only available in theaters at first before coming to digital and streaming. Sharma and Booty said they may also make changes to how Xbox approaches AI. This has been a key concern for many, especially given Sharma's background in the AI space.

"We're a challenger"

The memo also makes clear what everyone already knows, and that is that the Xbox brand has seen better days. It's lagging behind PlayStation and Switch, and that's something Sharma and Booty are not shying away from. "

"We have to be honest about where we are. We're a challenger, and meeting this moment will require pace, energy, and a level of self-critique that should feel uncomfortable," they said.

"Over the last five years, Xbox and the industry have been through an unimaginable amount of change, and this team has continued to deliver through it for our community. Thank you for staying focused on what matters. 62 days in, we're proud of how we’ve honored our commitments of great games, return of Xbox, and future of play. We're here to do the most creative and courageous work of our lives, and that's what we'll do together," Sharma and Booty said.

Return to Xbox and a new logo

Additionally, it was reported that Microsoft is putting up "Return to Xbox" signs at its offices, along with other signs that say things like "Great games" and "Future of play."

What's more, a new Xbox logo (see below) has begun to show up on elevators at Microsoft HQ. The Verge said this same logo is also being used for internal documents pertaining to the upcoming Project Helix hybrid console.

Sharma took over as the top boss for Xbox in February, replacing Phil Spencer. Another big move at the time was the departure of Xbox president Sarah Bond.

After Sharma took over for Spencer, she said she wanted the Xbox brand to "return to our roots" and that she had the aim of trying to make "Xbox the best place to play." Sharma has also heard the wishes from fans to make Xbox-exclusive games again.

Sharma also personally spearheaded the decision to kill the "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign. What's more, Sharma oversaw the recent changes to Game Pass, which included a price drop and the removal of new Call of Duty titles from the catalog.

Fans will get to see more of Microsoft's vision for the future of Xbox in June during the Xbox Games Showcase. This event will be followed immediately by a Gears of War: E-Day showcase.

You can read the full memo below from Sharma and Booty.

"Dear team,

Xbox has always been different.

We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.

From the beginning, Xbox was built by people willing to try things that others wouldn’t. We placed a consumer bet inside an enterprise company because we believed gaming would define the living room, and we were at risk of missing it.

That spirit has carried us through the last 25 years, and it is required to carry us forward.

We have work to do

Players are frustrated.

New feature drops on console have been less frequent. Our presence on PC isn’t strong enough. Pricing is getting harder for people to keep up with. And core experiences like search, discovery, social, and personalization still feel too fragmented. Developers and publishers are asking for more, too: better tools, better insights, and a platform that helps them grow faster.

At the same time, a new generation of players is coming online with different expectations. Their time is split across games, media, and everything else competing for attention. They expect more content in familiar places, want to shape the worlds they play in, and want to create and socialize together, not just play together.

These changes are happening as the industry reshapes around us.

Console remains large and stable. Windows now represents more players and more hours and is increasingly where competition is most intense. Players have access to more games than ever, even as the cost and time to build blockbuster titles continues to rise, putting pressure on what gets made and how risk is taken. Some of the biggest recent hits are coming from small teams or even single creators, and places like Roblox are producing experiences that rival major franchises in scale. More players are also choosing subscriptions and services as their primary way to play, with expectations set around instant access, ongoing value, and libraries that evolve continuously.

The industry is becoming global and competitive. More than half of the market’s revenue, players, and growth are happening outside of our core markets. But the rest of the world is not just a large market. Developers there are increasingly competing with the most established Western studios, combining scale, speed, and a willingness to reinvent genres many once considered mature.

The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.

Xbox will be where the world plays

What does Xbox become in this next era?

Xbox will be where the world plays and creates. We will build a global platform that connects players and creators everywhere. Console is at the foundation, delivering a premium experience, and cloud brings that experience to any device. You can play where you want, and your games, progress, friends, and identity stay with you across console, PC, mobile, and cloud.

Xbox will be built to be affordable, personal, and open. We will offer flexible pricing so it’s easy to get started and keep playing. The experience will adapt to you, letting you customize how you play, helping you find what you’ll love, and connecting you with the right people. And we will be open to all creators, from individuals to the largest studios, giving anyone the tools to reach a global audience and keep their games growing over time.

Our new north star will be daily active players.

We will execute this through four priorities: hardware, content, experience, and services.

Hardware

• Stabilize Gen9 as a healthy and high-quality base

• Deliver Project Helix to lead in performance and play your console and PC games

• Lead in comfortable, personal, high-performance accessories

• Build a strong ecosystem that expands choice and reach

Content

• Grow and extend an enduring portfolio of franchises players love

• Evolve our 3P partnerships and strengthen our 5-year slate

• Expand into China, emerging markets, and mobile-first audiences

• Maintain and grow in live games and long-term stewardship

• Elevate creator-centric platforms like Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, and Sea of Thieves

Experience

• Fix the fundamentals for players and partners
• Make Xbox the best place for developers and creators to build and grow
• Overhaul discovery, customization, social and personalization to connect the community

Services

• Fortify Game Pass with clear differentiation and sustainable economics
• Return the business to durable growth with strong cost discipline
• Make cloud play feel native, fast, and reliable across TVs and low-cost devices
• Use M&A deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow

Along the way, we will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide.

We are Xbox

To achieve our master plan, the way we work must transform.

Our best work happens when the full stack moves together. “Microsoft Gaming” describes our structure but it does not describe our ambition. So, we are going back to where we started and changing our team’s name.

We are Xbox.

We are a high agency culture where wild and wonderful ideas thrive. Our job is not to smooth over our differences, but to connect everyone into something greater than any one studio or product.

We have to be honest about where we are. We’re a challenger, and meeting this moment will require pace, energy, and a level of self-critique that should feel uncomfortable. At our best we:

1. Earn every player
2. Protect our art
3. Stay rebellious
4. Progress over perfection
5. Signal over ceremony
6. Core before more
7. Outwork the problem
8. Speed is learning
9. Makers over managers
10. Clarity is kindness

Over the last five years, Xbox and the industry have been through an unimaginable amount of change, and this team has continued to deliver through it for our community. Thank you for staying focused on what matters. 62 days in, we’re proud of how we’ve honored our commitments of great games, return of Xbox, and future of play. We’re here to do the most creative and courageous work of our lives, and that’s what we’ll do together.

With gratitude,

Matt & Asha"