Xbox CEO Wants New IPs to Last Despite Layoffs
Xbox underwent a structural overhaul last summer that affected thousands of employees through layoffs and the divestment of parts of its business. These changes have led fans to question the future of the Xbox brand and its implications for
Xbox Inc. entered a restructuring phase last summer that affected thousands of people due to layoffs and divestment of parts of the business. These developments have caused Xbox fans to have many questions about the future of the brand and the ultimate consequences of the recent changes.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has made no secret of her stance on the future direction of content creation. Microsoft plans to focus more on the biggest and most well-known Xbox franchises; Including Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft.
Some of Xbox's more creative studios, such as Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion Games, have either spun off into independent franchises or shut down entirely. These studios mainly worked on new franchises. Although their works did not always achieve significant financial success, their creativity was praised many times and they won various awards.
Sharma's comments about focusing on the big Xbox franchises have raised the question of whether there is still room for creativity and fresh ideas at the company. The answer seems to be yes; However, the Xbox CEO has also warned against over-reliance on legacy franchises.
At last week's internal Xbox Town Hall meeting, Sharma talked about the massive changes in the content creation department. The text of his remarks, obtained by Windows Central via multiple sources, suggests that the future of Xbox content won't just be limited to legacy franchises. While re-emphasizing the importance of the brand's largest collections, he warned that relying on past successes is not enough to guarantee the future.
We support our strongest franchises. I want our successful games to become global franchises with annual revenue of one billion dollars. At the same time, I'd like to keep creating new and lasting IPs. If we only rely on rehashing past successes, we will not survive. We need to find new ways and be brave enough to create new ideas and develop new IPs that attract new audiences.
Sharma also pointed out the opportunities ahead for King and the casual games market. In recent years, games like Monopoly Go and Block Blast have taken some of Candy Crush's market share, making competition in the field more difficult. He also talked about streamlining the structure of Xbox Studios, again referring to the decision to move some IPs, including Halo and Sea of Thieves, to the Activision subsidiary. The comments raise the possibility of further structural changes, although it remains unclear exactly what further simplification would mean.
Xbox has been aggressively looking to cut costs this year. At the same time, the lack of hardware inventory, exacerbated by the crisis of rising costs and RAM memory shortage, has limited the growth opportunities in this brand's ecosystem. Xbox's multi-platform strategy in the past years also did not have a favorable result; Because this platform lost part of its position and on the contrary, it helped to strengthen the competitors. Meanwhile, the performance of major third-party titles such as FIFA, Fortnite, and NBA 2K games on Xbox Series X/S consoles also suffered.
Returning to the release of exclusive games has been able to somewhat improve the condition of Xbox and attract users to this platform again to experience works such as Gears of War: E-Day and Forza Horizon 6. However, reviving Xbox's status will likely require several years of investment, releasing multiple games, and strengthening various collections; Along with a significant change in the state of the hardware.
Xbox Series X/S consoles and gaming hardware in general have become more expensive and luxury products than ever before. This puts more pressure on Xbox's chances of success and makes it more difficult to attract new audiences. In an interview with Windows Central at the beginning of the year, Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Botti emphasized the importance of starting small when talking about investing in new IPs. He said:
Every great thing started with something small.
This view is still very important; Especially since Microsoft has collaborated with Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear series, to develop the PHYSINT project. It remains to be seen how much Xbox under Sharma's management will continue to invest in this area; And that's in a situation where this company has applied extensive and painful adjustments to its current teams. The development of artificial intelligence has also complicated the industry and increased the cost of hardware components.
Nowadays, there are more games than ever, but many users are faced with a lack of free time and budget. On the other hand, service-oriented games continue to eat up all the money and users, and it seems more difficult than ever to find new audiences.