The last few hours have been very interesting for Xbox. Asha Sharma is now at the helm of the company and gave a lengthy interview to Windows Central. Many topics were discussed, including the potential comeback of exclusives.
When her appointment was announced last week, Sharma had already stated on social media that she was listening to gamers who were calling for exclusive titles for Microsoft consoles. Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, Avowed, Gears of War: Reloaded, and The Outer Worlds 2 have already arrived on competing platforms. They will be followed this year by Forza Horizon 6, Fable, and, most notably, Halo: Campaign Evolved.
During her recent interview, the new CEO addressed all this with a statement that deliberately leaves room for doubt. For her, the multiplatform release plan “remains the plan until it’s not the plan.” To put it simply, Xbox is not ruling out a return to exclusives in an attempt to sell more consoles.
“Right now, I need to learn, candidly. About the ‘why’ of these decisions, what we were optimizing for, and what the data says about the Xbox strategy today. That’s the honest answer. I’m looking at lifetime value, not just what happened in a previous moment, or in short-term efficiencies and things like that. The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”
Asha Sharma also mentioned her desire to focus on the core group of Xbox fans who have invested “thousands of dollars” in the brand’s products.
