Since Asha Sharma took over at XBOX, the brand has shown a radically different image. The new management seems to question some of the decisions that have been made in Microsoft’s video game division over recent years and, in recent public statements, has once again open the door to exclusive games. It is an idea that the president has been flirting with since day one and which she has spoken about in a recent interview. In it he recognized that the problem is that there are two forces that push in opposite directions.

“It’s a difficult issue. We are the second largest publisher in the world and to be a great publisher you must ensure that your games reach a large number of players. At the same time, we are increasingly becoming a platform and to be a platform you need exclusive content and services. We are following the issue very closely and I think we should carefully analyze how we want to approach it with each titlelearning from similar cases in the sector,” explained Asha Sharma in a talk with Bloomberg.

A case-by-case approach could make sense for Xbox. According to data from Alinea Analytics, giving up the exclusivity of Forza Horizon 5 caused the brand to sell almost six million more units of its driving game and launching Sea of ​​Thieves on PlayStation 5 translated into almost three million extra copies. However, this success has not been replicated with games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Doom: The Dark Ages or The Outer Worlds 2. In this sense, there are certain intellectual properties that perhaps the brand could allow itself to ‘exclusivize’ again.

The debate is also reopened at a key moment. On the one hand, Sony has decided to enhance its console by stopping publishing its games on PC. On the other hand, Asha Sharma herself confirmed in the same interview, alluding to information about Microsoft’s alleged excessive demands, that “The objective is not to achieve profitability margins of 30%”. “The goal is to become the number one video game and entertainment company. Microsoft has invested more heavily than anyone else in this business category over the last six years (…) We are betting big on the video game business and we are betting big on XBOX, but we have work to do.”

XBOX wants to restart

The interview coincided with the celebration of Asha Sharma’s first hundred days in office. A period that the board has considered positive and very interesting and that now gives rise to a new stage. “If you look at the numbers, we are not in a good position,” he acknowledged. “I think the next hundred days we have to restart the business. We must take a look at where we invest, what we prioritize and how we operate to grow again and become the platform on which everyone plays.” In any case, Sharma believes that the first steps have already been taken with measures such as the reduction of Game Pass or the company’s new communication policy that has brought it closer to users again.

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