Microsoft Considers Selling XBOX Brand Amid Restructuring and Layoffs
Heading into the Summer Game Fest, it was nothing but good news for the XBOX brand.
The company recently announced a new record for monthly active XBOX users. The company was set to celebrate its 25th anniversary in a big way, including the return of exclusive console games (Gears of War: IE-Day and Clockwork Revolution), as well as a limited edition XBOX console.
Since the Summer Game Fest, however, there have been dark clouds looming over XBOX HQ.
Earlier this week news broke that the company was planning “significant” layoffs next month. Then Matthew Ball, the chief strategy officer of XBOX, was talking very badly about the allure of cloud gaming, which seems to be at odds with their pivot back to comfort. That was just the tip of the iceberg; it looks like even bigger news may be coming.
New Xbox Boss Wants to Make Game Passes Cheaper, But Beware of the Trap
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has hinted that Xbox Game Pass prices could drop in the future, though this could be part of the transition to digital ownership.
Microsoft Is Reportedly Considering Selling The XBOX Brand
Aaron Holmes of The Information recently reported that Microsoft is looking to revamp its XBOX games division. This, in itself, is not exciting news. Despite all the success the company saw during the days of the Xbox 360, it has been trailing Sony and Nintendo quickly since the days of the Xbox One.
With layoffs to come and new CEO Asha Sharma growing into the role, there is much uncertainty. This includes the opportunity for Microsoft to “rotate or reprogram [XBOX] as a wholly owned company, which could make it easier to sell, or create a joint venture with other partners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the talks, Holmes said.
Since the Summer Game Fest, however, there have been dark clouds looming over XBOX HQ.
What could this mean? Many things. As a joint venture, that means other companies can buy an ownership stake in XBOX. If Microsoft can go the fully owned route, as Sony Interactive Entertainment is, it deserves, XBOX will no longer be able to stop Microsoft from footing the bill; they will be forced to make a profit. Microsoft will no longer be XBOX’s sugar; they turned their backs to the wall to play.
To be fair, Holmes also added that Microsoft currently has no immediate plans to restructure, but all options are reportedly on the table.
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Xbox fans who have enjoyed third-party games from State of Play may be in for some bad news.
No Matter What, First Team XBOX Games Need to Be Released ASAP
Another way to make sure that the XBOX is viable is to have a strong release of its high-quality games.
We’re going on five years now since the release of Halo Infinite, and the next Halo title is Halo: Campaign Evolved. We haven’t seen a traditional Elder Scrolls game in over a decade at this point, although Bethesda has been busy with Fallout 4 and Starfield. They started full production on The Elder Scrolls VI in 2023, so hopefully we’ll learn more about it next year (it didn’t happen this year).
Speaking of Fallout, apart from the success of the Prime Video series, it has also been crickets in the single-player game Fallout for almost a decade. Something needs to be done about this, and Holmes adds that the accelerated development timeline for these franchises is a focus area for Sharma.
This, combined with the return of console exclusivity, could help, in theory, open the XBOX product page. The Xbox 360 dominated the market with great exclusive games like Halo 3, Gears of War, and, at the time, Mass Effect. We know that their first-party studios still manage to deliver amazing games; Forza Horizon 6 is the latest example of that. Apparently now is the time for XBOX to stop or shut down.
Whatever ends up happening, it’s clear that there are big changes coming to the XBOX brand, and not all of them will be good.
