Xbox CEO Wants to Reach 1 Billion People a Day, But Is That Happening?
Xbox has been in the news lately, and not for good reasons. CEO Asha Sharma released a statement about the current state of Xbox and his hopes for the future of the platform, including PC and mobile counterparts, saying they need to reset and are operating at very low margins compared to similar publishers.
The highlight of Sharma’s statement comes at the end, where he says that he wants Xbox to be a company that makes more than a billion people happy each day and “gives everyone a chance to create and connect.” I can’t stop thinking about the implications of this statement by Sharma, especially when Xbox just took the opportunity to create 3,000 layoffs.
No Platform Will Entertain Over A Billion People Soon
According to Worldometer, there are about 8.3 billion people in the world right now. This means that Sharma wants one-eighth of all people on Xbox every day, whether that’s on the Xbox console, or the Xbox app on PC and mobile. Even if you look beyond streaming services, none of them come close to reaching a billion subscribers.
This means that Sharma is looking for an eighth of all people on Xbox every day.
If you look at Steam, which can face more players than Xbox at the moment given its large catalog and the presence of simple games that can run on computers with less power, and Steam Deck that offers a handheld option, the maximum number of the same players on July 10. it reached just under 40 million. Sharma wants to reach 25 times that number each day with Xbox content, which I find hard to understand when Xbox doesn’t have much to offer that can compete with other platforms like Steam.
That doesn’t help many iconic Xbox franchises have collapsed over the years. Halo never had the quality of gameplay of the original entry in the series, which was enough to buy an Xbox. I remember buying an Xbox One when it came out with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but when I look at the exclusives now, I don’t see anything worth buying for the entire console, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. The increase in console prices, which is not unique to Xbox right now, but definitely does not help their situation, makes it even harder to justify buying a console for a few games that you might like.
Who Will Create Content Designed To Reach 1 Million People Every Day?
While it’s impossible at this point for Xbox or any other entertainment platform to reach a billion people a day, Xbox isn’t investing in a way that reflects that future goal. Recent days have been a rough time for developers and studios connected to Xbox as cuts have left thousands of people out of work. Even successful studios have not been left behindas IO Interactive still had to deal with cuts despite the success of 007 First Light.
With that in mind, Sharma’s goal for the brand becomes impossible. If you want to entertain billions of people every day, you need content by doing so. In theory, cutting the number of studios makes sense, but it makes less sense when you cut those that have had recent success and those that have upcoming games that players are excited about, such as cutting Ninja Theory after revealing the upcoming Senua game.
I have to think that this statement about the Xbox reset and the goal of reaching one billion people each day, which sounds impossible no matter how many times I see it, is intended for investors who do not follow the gaming industry beyond stocks and numbers below. If not, it will do more idea of investing in studios and developers to give them the tools they need to succeed, as their success translates to the success of their parent company.
Now, in addition to the lack of special games that do buying a console that isn’t worth the priceXbox is losing players’ trust. Prices are going up, studios are cutting back, and other platforms, like Steam, are offering more. I plan to take the Nintendo Switch 2 as my next console despite being primarily a PC gamer, as Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake suits me, and the price increase comes with an improved notification while being as limited as the company can manage. As for the Xbox, I don’t think I’ll be buying one anytime soon.
