Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty announced the gaming division is reverting from 'Microsoft Gaming' to simply 'Xbox.' In a memo shared on Xbox Wire following an all-hands meeting, they addressed player frustrations and pledged to reevaluate the approach to game exclusivity. The move signals a renewed focus on console as the foundation amid broader platform ambitions.
Asha Sharma, who took over as Xbox CEO two months ago, shared the memo with staff on April 23 and published it on Xbox Wire. 'Players are frustrated,' she wrote. '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 seek better tools and insights, the memo added. Microsoft counts 500 million daily active players across its services, from Game Pass to mobile titles like Candy Crush. Console remains 'at the foundation,' with Xbox to be 'affordable, personal, and open.' A 16-point plan includes stabilizing the current generation, cost discipline, and potential acquisitions where growth lags. The executives wrote, '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.' The division adopted the Microsoft Gaming name in 2022 amid the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Sharma and Booty stated they will 'reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide.' No changes were specified for announced multiplatform releases like Starfield on PS5 or upcoming Forza Horizon 6 and the Halo: Combat Evolved remake on PlayStation. Gears of War: E-Day remains confirmed for Xbox and PC in 2026, with no other platforms announced. '62 days in, we’re proud of how we’ve honored our commitments of great games, return of Xbox, and future of play,' they concluded.
