Hundreds of layoffs and many canceled projects later, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says we won't survive without new IPs.

Having your cake and eating it is also a metaphor.

When you make a purchase through links on our site, we may receive an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.

Thousands of layoffs, multiple studio boots, and Obsidian's reorganization of its newer projects and later on Fallout, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reportedly went to an inner-city hall to discuss the importance of the new IP.

The transcript, as shared by Windows Central, reads: "We support our strongest franchises. I want our big games to become billion-dollar global franchises. I'd also like to see us continue to create lasting new IP. We won't survive if we just [sic] revive the past. We have to find new ways and new inventions, new sets of inventions for audiences."

This is, to put it mildly, very confusing. As part of the Xbox "Reset", the studio has done the following:

Canceled several projects from Obsidian and told it to make a Fallout game.

It did the same with South of Midnight Compulsion Games Studio.

It is currently negotiating Ninja Theory after a failed sale attempt.

This doesn't seem to me to be the kind of brave new IP invention that Sharma is talking about - most of these studios have either just made interesting new IPs (South of Midnight) or are in the business of doing interesting and innovative new things (Double Fine).

From the point of view of numbers and capitalism, did they build a bank? Probably not, but the saying "try to have your cake and eat it too" is there for a reason. The mouth doesn't talk about what the hand does, while making some of the worst industry cuts we've seen in a decade.

Microsoft's CEO says Xbox's "streamlining" process is "great to see" after the latest round of layoffs.

"Xbox is not for sale," says Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox

Massive layoffs like Microsoft's are weakening the games industry, developer id Software says, as developers "have no incentive to care anymore."

The opposite of this is that Xbox has chosen Hideo Kojima's Physint. Which is technically a new IP. It's not an IP that Xbox personally funded the most, and it's created by a popular author, but hey. There is that.

All of this isn't to say that Xbox's real strategy—as Sharma puts it, "supporting our strongest franchises"—can't be understood from the same ruthless abacus perspective. But given how much its current developers are understandably in pain with the sword hanging over their heads? I leave that town hall very confused.

Contact me for news and offers from other upcoming brands Receive emails from us from our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and are 16 years of age or older.

Harvey's gaming history began when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription at the age of 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a strong interest in G'raha Tia. He started his career as a freelancer and wrote for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine and of course PC Gamer. He sinks his teeth into anything that sounds interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, ghosts, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and the odd indie title. He also plays a TTRPG rack in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favorite system is, he has too many.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please log out and then log back in, then you will be prompted to enter your display name.

Bethesda says Obsidian's "creative identity" will be preserved, just months after canceling several projects and being told to make a Fallout game.

Xbox laid off 268 more employees, merged Obsidian into Bethesda, and put Activision in charge of Halo.

"We didn't have layoffs before and now suddenly we have yearly layoffs": Bethesda artist says 'something has changed' under Microsoft

Dead Space creator says Crofton forced to send Callisto protocol: 'We beat Covid'

"Our humble goal is to survive the AI revolution as Star Wars and its Marvel crossover turn to AI," says CEO of Epic Games.

The shortlist for the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards, featuring the best PC game of the year, has been released and you can vote now.

Steam Weekly Review: The Strange Case of Wonder Boy in Monster Land's Suspicious PC Game

Nier creator Yoko Taro says she's achieved her career dreams, but continues to work because it's good "to stave off dementia."

'I'm the type of player who likes a game 100%': Song Won Cho on achievement hunting, why he doesn't like multiplayer games, and the Balatro joker that nearly drove him to despair.

According to reports, AMD has already raised the price of GDDR6 for its graphics card partners, so you won't find any respite from GPU price hikes with Team Red.

RimWorld ditches Unity for its in-house engine, says your saves still work, so most mods do, and the whole thing runs twice as fast.

Freezing your robots in Arc Raiders Frozen Trail? You need one of these 12 cozy winter game upgrades

Don't neglect to build furniture in your Arc Raiders outpost - it opens up hundreds of extra storage slots

Behold, a $3,000 keyboard that's actually a powerful AI PC that I'd hate to spill coffee on.