Xbox's return to exclusives was decided 'very early on' by CEO Asha Sharma

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma apparently decided very early on that exclusives would be coming back.

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After years of multi-million game sales and extracting value from its competitors, Xbox is once again returning to exclusivity. Xbox originally broke game exclusivity in February 2024 when it announced that only 4 Xbox games would cross over, culminating in the confusing "this is an Xbox" marketing campaign. Two years later, Xbox is changing plans as part of a big new company reset and re-embracing exclusives, although Microsoft's CEO hates this world (probably because of Sony's anti-Xbox publishing deals).

Interestingly enough, it's now been revealed that Xbox's shift towards exclusivity was among the earliest business models that new CEO Asha Sharma decided on when she took over for Phil Spencer earlier this year. According to Xbox CSO Matthew Ball, exclusivity is and always was important to Sharma: "This specific decision was made very early. Asha believes that to build a platform, you must have exclusive services and software--in this case, games. And so to return our platform to consistent growth, we need a reliable pipeline of exclusive games," Ball said in a recent interview with GamesRadar.

No one expected Xbox to return to exclusives, not even the people that worked there.

"It's true that the news was a surprise to a lot of people in the company; that's because we wanted it to be a surprise to players." Ball said.

Microsoft's plan for exclusivity is much more muted than past generations. There will now be at least one exclusive game per year, with the titles themselves made exclusive to Xbox and PC (remember, Xbox still includes Windows). In 2026, Microsoft will deliver Gears of War E-Day, and 2027's exclusive will be Clockwork Revolution.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

What exclusivity policy did Asha Sharma decide on when she became Xbox CEO?

She decided to return to content exclusivity, believing a platform needs exclusive services and software (games). Microsoft’s plan is a more muted approach: at least one exclusive game per year, with those titles exclusive to Xbox and PC (Windows). Comments also indicate exclusives will be chosen thoughtfully on a case-by-case basis and could include multiplayer titles (see Related 3 , News #112036).

Answered

Question #2

How many exclusive Xbox games will Microsoft release each year under the new plan?

Microsoft will release at least one exclusive game per year under the new plan. The exclusives will be made exclusive to Xbox and PC.

Answered

Question #3

Could multiplayer or online social games be made Xbox exclusives under the new strategy?

Yes. The primary article says comments from Xbox's chief content officer indicate multiplayer games could be considered for exclusivity in some form, though how that will manifest is unclear. The article also speculates that Hideo Kojima's online social game OD could be among Xbox's exclusives.

Answered

Question #4

How did Xbox announce the shift back to exclusives internally and to players, according to the article?

Internally the move surprised many Xbox employees. Externally Xbox intentionally presented the change as a surprise to players, with CSO Matthew Ball saying the news was kept quiet inside precisely so it would be a surprise to players.

Answered

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Comments made by Xbox's chief content officer also indicate that multiplayer games could be considered for exclusivity in some form, but how exactly this will manifest remains unclear. We've speculated that Hideo Kojima's new game OD could be among Xbox's exclusives--that should be an online social game that's powered by Microsoft's cloud gaming technology.