The direction of Xbox as a platform has been a hot topic for most of 2024 as the company shifts to a more multi-platform approach and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has given us a bit more insight into how they feel it’s going 1 year after officially acquiring Activision Blizzard for 69 Billion dollars.
Speaking during the Microsoft Annual Shareholders Meeting Nadella was asked how they are feeling about the return on investment from the gaming division.
“I’m feeling very, very good about where we are in gaming. In fact, right now, this is like the peak season for gaming, obviously with Black Ops and the new Call of Duty, and it’s just been fantastic to see the launch and the marketing around it, the buzz around it and the love for gaming.”
That’s all well and good, but what about the core business model as a whole? Well he had quite a bit to say about that.
“If I think about it, right, we chose the secular growth category in entertainment, which we think is gaming, and said, let’s double down on it, let’s _ and it’s been a passion for Microsoft ever since.”
“In fact, I think Flight Simulator launched before Windows or Office even, and so it’s like one of the longest franchises in this company. And so we said, let’s take that joy of gaming everywhere. And that’s why even these ads with Xbox now (This Is An Xbox), where we are redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan, it’s about being able to enjoy Xbox on all your devices.”
These comments certainly do double down on the idea that Xbox will stop producing any exclusives at all, though he never comes out and says that explicitly. That is a big part of Xbox’s current communication problem in the sense that they are vague comments at best and mixed across different executives.
Here we have the head of Microsoft more or less saying they are pushing everywhere while a week ago head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty was saying exclusives are a case by case basis. While back in June Booty was saying they are “absolutely committed to having launch exclusives on Xbox”. All this has led to more speculation that quite frankly just hurts the brand.
They are likely not coming right out and saying exactly what the plan is because they don’t want to box themselves in incase they decide to pivot. Having said that it would be nice to get one seamless message from all the executives and a clearer picture on the plan.
Still Plans For New Hardware
The one thing we can potentially take away from what Nadella said at the shareholders meeting is the console itself doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. With many thinking the company may abandon the hardware with the new approach, Nadella’s comments will likely quell that thinking, at least for now.
“We feel fantastic about the progress we’ve made. And more importantly, I think, long term, as a company, we can bring the best of AI innovation, cloud innovation, console innovation, PC innovation to build the best games that can be enjoyed by gamers everywhere.”
As I said earlier, things can change and plans can change, but for all the mixed messaging on the future of their software, everyone involved has continued to say they are staying in the hardware business, so there is that. What that hardware looks like, and how much incentive people will have to purchase it remains to be seen.
With 2025 right around the corner we will have to see how this all unfolds. Xbox currently has Avowed, an Xbox console exclusive set to release in February with Doom The Dark Ages set to release early 2025 on all platforms.
