Xbox insists it’s not giving up on original IP: ‘We won’t survive if we only relive the past’
Despite doubling down on its biggest franchises, Asha Sharma insists original IP is important
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has insisted that Microsoft hasn’t given up on creating original IP, despite doubling down on its biggest franchises in a division reset.
Since her appointment earlier this year, Sharma has enacted a sweeping overhaul of Xbox’s content strategy, laying off thousands of staff and closing or divesting numerous first-party studios.
The company ‘reset’ has been viewed as a doubling down on Xbox’s biggest franchises. Notably, Halo has been moved to the stewardship of Call of Duty publisher Activision, Obsidian has been put to work on a new Fallout under Bethesda, while studios like Double Fine (Kiln), Ninja Theory (Hellblade), and Compulsion (South of Midnight) have been divested.
However, speaking during an internal Town Hall meeting this week, obtained by Windows Central, Sharma claimed that creating original games was still important for the gaming division’s future, despite axing some of its most prolific creators of IP.
“On content, I think this is probably the thing that you are all seeing the most about as we’re making a lot of changes,” Sharma reportedly said.
“We’re backing our strongest franchises. I want our great games to become great global billion-dollar franchises. I would also like to see us continue to create enduring new IP. We will not survive if we only revive on the past. We have to find new ways, and courage, to have invention on new IP, that reaches new sets of audiences.”
Sharma recently denied the gaming division could be sold by Microsoft, following her streamlining of the business this year.
Earlier this summer, a report by The Information claimed that Microsoft was considering spinning out or restructuring its gaming division as a wholly owned subsidiary. This would, in theory, make Xbox easier to sell off in the future.
However, in the new interview with the New York Times, Sharma has denied that any such plans exist. “Xbox is not for sale,” Sharma told the publication. “We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success, and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model and everything needed to achieve that.”
