Previous Game Pass Strategy Sent Xbox Into 'Freefall,' CEO Asha Sharma Reportedly Tells Staff
Asha Sharma said Xbox has reset Game Pass after an eight-month decline and expects growth to continue as Microsoft reinvests in the business.
- Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced in an internal memo that the company has "been able to reset Game Pass after an eight-month decline." Despite the strategy previously sending the balance sheet into "freefall," Sharma claimed the division is now returning to growth.
- Microsoft's gaming business is undergoing one of the most significant restructures in video game history, cutting nearly 2,000 staff. Chief content officer Matt Booty noted last month that Xbox remains only 75 percent through this painful reset.
- According to The Wall Street Journal, Game Pass subscriptions currently sit at about 30 million, falling short of the 77 million target. Sharma pointed to "strong starts" for Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears of War: E-Day as positive signs.
- To strengthen the platform, Sharma aims to expand initiatives like Play Anywhere while utilizing a family of devices for Gen 10, including the third-party Xbox Ally X by Asus. This multi-device strategy marks a shift in Xbox's approach.
- While Sharma has expressed ambitions to reach more than 1 billion people daily, that milestone remains distant. Long-term bets like rebooting Halo under Activision will require several years to determine if they can successfully drive the platform's future.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Previous Game Pass Strategy Sent Xbox Into 'Freefall,' CEO Asha Sharma Reportedly Tells Staff
It's no secret that Xbox has had a rough time in 2026. With nearly 2,000 staff cut as part of sweeping layoffs and studio closures, Microsoft's gaming business is in the middle of one of the most significant restructures in video game history. But what led Xbox to this point? According to CEO Asha Sharma, Game Pass played a key role.
Asha Sharma Says Xbox Has Climbed Out of an All-Time Low, Months After Cutting 3,200 Jobs and Shedding Several Studios
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has certainly made a big impact on the division's strategy since she replaced retiring executive Phil Spencer earlier this year, and it doesn't look like she's slowing the pace any time soon. According to Windows Central, Sharma has addressed the staff again, claiming that the previous Game Pass strategy had sent the division's balance sheet into "freefall", but now things have stabilized and first-party revenue has already …
Asha Sharma, the Xbox CEO, recently spoke with employees at an internal meeting. The manager revealed that Microsoft's video game division has already passed the "free fall" phase. Sharma took the opportunity to make a situation and said that the brand has grown again thanks to its own games. Read more
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