XBOX: the new CEO still lacks clarity on exclusives and first-party games

It has been about three months since Asha Sharma was appointed CEO of XBOX, and among her first decisions is the halt of the This Is Xbox campaign and the price cut of Game Pass. However, on one point, the manager has not yet been clear. XBOX has not yet taken a definitive stance on exclusives and how first-party games will be managed.

This is a fundamental issue for the coming years, as the XBOX division is engaged in attempts to reach significant financial targets and to re-establish its position in the battle against Sony and Valve for dominance in the gaming sector.

What will XBOX do with its exclusives?

This aspect clearly emerges from the interview Sharma gave to Bloomberg Tech Live. During this interview, the topic of exclusives was indeed addressed. The XBOX CEO emphasized:
"I think it's a difficult topic; we are the second-largest publisher in the world, and to be a great publisher, it's essential that our games reach a wide audience. At the same time, we are becoming more and more of a platform. To be a platform, you need exclusive content, and so we are examining this issue very carefully."

For the future, Sharma added:
"I believe we need to think carefully about each individual title, how we want to approach it, and learn from similar cases in the industry. And that's exactly what we are doing."

The choice not to take a position is, in itself, a stance. XBOX will likely follow a flexible approach and carefully evaluate the strategy to adopt, both as a publisher of games and as a platform aiming to grow in terms of user base.

XBOX has several projects in development, and the theme of exclusives is set to become highly relevant in the coming months, also in light of the arrival of the new console (Project Helix), which will need to deal with a very complex market.