Xbox is moving towards a new stage: it will reevaluate exclusive games and focus on a “global platform”

Since taking over the leadership of Xbox in February, Sharma has expressed his intention to “take risks” and renew his commitment to the video game company’s fans. Thus, he anticipated the “return of Xbox” with new business models and new ways of playing.

Now, with the help of Xbox content director, Matt Booty, Sharma has shared his vision of the future for the video game company, with a strategy that aims to adapt to the current “global and competitive” industry, with a new global platform that “connects players and creators from everywhere.”

This was announced in a statement, in which he clarified that the console will continue in the base “offering a premium experience”, while the cloud will bring “that experience to any device”, continuing with its objective of taking games anywhere.

“Your games, progress, friends and identity remain with you on console, PC, mobile and cloud”, but they will do so under an “affordable, personal and open” formula. In this sense, Sharma has indicated that they will offer “flexible prices” to make it easier to start playing, with experiences that adapt to the needs of players.

These goals are consistent with Microsoft’s plan to offer flexible Xbox Game Pass subscriptions that allow users to choose the conditions of their plan, as recently revealed.

“The experience will adapt to you, allowing you to personalize the way you play, helping you find what you will like and connecting with the right people,” he added.

On the other hand, Sharma has clarified that they will also be open to working with all creators and developers “from individuals to the largest studios”, with the idea of ​​offering anyone who needs it “the tools to reach a global audience.”

This strategy responds to the fact that, as the board has explained, “players are frustrated”, at a time when the company has released fewer new features for console functions and Xbox’s presence on PC “is not strong enough”, added to the fact that prices “are increasingly difficult to maintain” by users, despite the recent price decrease for the Xbox Game Pass subscription.

The board has also noted that “key experiences” such as search, discovery, social networking and personalization are “too fragmented,” and that the new generation of players arrives “with different expectations,” as they expect “more content in familiar places,” in addition to wanting to “shape the worlds in which they play” by creating and socializing with other players, not just playing.

Therefore, he has ruled that the model used until now will not be the one that takes Xbox “forward” and that, with the focus on daily active players, the company will take into account all these factors to improve for its “new era.”

Among the priorities for Xbox in this new stage, Sharma has referred to ‘hardware’, with the aim of “stabilizing” the Gen9 consoles, that is, its Xbox Series X and S consoles, “as a healthy and high-quality base.”

He has also made reference to the launch of Project Helix, the company’s next console that will offer leadership in performance, in addition to maintaining the reproduction of games for both console and PC.

Regarding content, the company intends to increase its franchise portfolio, evolving its alliances and “strengthening its 5-year calendar.” This includes live gaming platforms and creator platforms like Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, and Sea of ​​Thieves. Additionally, it also aims to expand into emerging markets, mobile audiences, and regions such as China.

To improve its services, Xbox is also considering strengthening Xbox Game Pass with “clear differentiation,” using “mergers and acquisitions” to accelerate growth.

In this framework, Sharma has clarified that they plan to reevaluate their approach to exclusive Xbox games, with respect to their current multiplatform strategy, which has allowed the launch of titles such as Forza Horizon 5 for PlayStation 5.

“We will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing and artificial intelligence (AI), and will share more as we learn and decide,” he concluded. All these changes will be carried out leaving Microsoft Gaming behind, to once again consolidate exclusively as Xbox.