Xbox boss Asha Sharma still can’t seem to decide on a stance regarding console exclusivity

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, now 100 days into her role following Phil Spencer’s February departure, faces mounting pressure to clarify the company’s stance on console exclusivity. During a recent Bloomberg Tech interview, Sharma expressed contradictory positions on the issue: acknowledging that platforms “must have” exclusive content to succeed, while simultaneously stating that as the world’s second-largest publisher, Xbox must reach players across all platforms.

Her ambiguous stance reflects deeper challenges facing Xbox’s strategic reset. Sharma has set an ambitious goal to make Xbox the “number one gaming and entertainment company” by 2030, a mandate she emphasizes supersedes traditional profit margin targets. However, the company faces headwinds including a 50% increase in RAM costs since her appointment and declining hardware sales.

Recent strategic moves offer glimpses of her priorities. Xbox reduced Game Pass pricing following an eight-month decline, and discontinued Copilot AI integration on consoles, with Sharma explaining that console players “aren’t excited about that experience.” She’s also positioned innovation as key to managing costs for Project Helix, Xbox’s next-generation console, stating it will only be “expensive if we do not innovate.”

Regarding the controversial $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition completed two and a half years ago—which brought franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft under Xbox’s umbrella—Sharma cryptically stated it’s “hard to say how to think about those decisions,” suggesting continued evaluation of its strategic value.

Xbox boss Asha Sharma still can’t seem to decide on a stance regarding console exclusivity

Sources