The goal is to reset the Xbox business to get it back on track.
Xbox head Asha Sharma recently said in an interview with Bloomberg that she wants Xbox to be "the number one gaming and entertainment company" by 2030, and she seems to believe that the reboot will strengthen them.
In an open letter on Xbox Wire, she lays out what will be needed going forward, and it's a message from Xbox that we haven't heard in a long time.
We already know she considers exclusives a necessity, but apparently this also includes third-party exclusives and new IP:"...a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success.
In short, it sounds like the Xbox community should brace itself for a really rocky period before things hopefully get better.
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Overnight, we had the unpleasant task of reporting that Microsoft appears to be preparing for major layoffs at Xbox next month, which could potentially lead to studio closures as well. The goal is to reset the Xbox business to get it back on track.
Xbox head Asha Sharma recently said in an interview with Bloomberg that she wants Xbox to be "the number one gaming and entertainment company" by 2030, and she seems to believe that the reboot will strengthen them. In an open letter on Xbox Wire, she lays out what will be needed going forward, and it's a message from Xbox that we haven't heard in a long time.
We already know she considers exclusives a necessity, but apparently this also includes third-party exclusives and new IP:
"...a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success. We need to reassess the balance between these and our investment priorities for the next 5 years."
Five years is a long time, but it seems we can expect significantly more exclusives going forward, even from third-parties, something Sony has often focused on but which Microsoft has been significantly less interested in over the past 10 years. Furthermore, Sharma seems to have realised how important it is to create successors to titles like Fable, Forza, Gears of War, and, of course, Halo.
In short, it sounds like the Xbox community should brace itself for a really rocky period before things hopefully get better.