Xbox to 'reevaluate approach to exclusivity,' new CEO Asha Sharma says as Microsoft prepares to launch Halo on PlayStation

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma gives a status update on her first 60 days leading the games division, offering hope to fans who want to see the return of Xbox exclusive games.

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Xbox broke exclusivity back in 2024, and hasn't really looked back since. Looking at the sales figures, it's not hard to see why--pent-up FOMO demand has led to gargantuan sales of key first-party Xbox games, with titles like Forza Horizon 5 amassing an estimated 5 million copies on PS5 alone. Opening up a sales portal on PlayStation has helped surge game sales, engagement, and possibly even in-game spending in Microsoft's games.

Despite the sales jump, which has had a material positive impact on Xbox's results, it's possible that Microsoft could return to some kind of content exclusivity and launch new games only on the Xbox ecosystem. In an open memo, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma mentions that Microsoft will "reevaluate our approach to exclusivity," meaning that the group is now at least willing to entertain the idea of Xbox exclusives, likely on a case-by-case basis.

Here's the excerpt from the memo:

Services

• Fortify Game Pass with clear differentiation and sustainable economics
• Return the business to durable growth with strong cost discipline
• Make cloud play feel native, fast, and reliable across TVs and low-cost devices
• Use M&A deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow

Along the way, we will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide.

The section on Xbox Game Pass is also interesting, because we've already seen this plan put into action.

Microsoft just announced an immediate price reduction on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, dropping the price from $29.99 down to $22.99, representing a -23% decrease in price. To reflect the value adjustment, Microsoft also rotated Call of Duty out of the service, which facilitates the price reduction while also protecting Call of Duty's mighty franchise sales.

As for exclusivity, gamers shouldn't really expect anything any time soon. Remember that Microsoft has made multi-year deals with partners, including PlayStation and Nintendo, to publish specific games on their platforms.

And some of Xbox's company-defining games, like Halo, are crossing over to PlayStation 5 for the long run.

Halo Studios' new Halo Campaign Evolved remake is a celebration of 25 years of Halo, and that game will be launching day one onto PlayStation 5--a first for the Halo franchise.

Halo Studios has even gone so far to say that all new Halo games will also launch on PlayStation platforms too.