Microsoft now identifies exclusives as a way to grow Xbox

Microsoft has made a big U-turn on its path to exclusive games and now sees them as a major growth indicator for Xbox.

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Microsoft recently posted its FY26 results, showing a $1 billion+ decline in Xbox earnings. The drop in gaming was driven by softening demand for Xbox hardware, increased costs and an overall reduction in subscription and sales. Microsoft's SEC filings also give some clues into how the group is now thinking about Xbox.

Following instrumental shifts from new CEO Asha Sharma, the games division is no longer referred to as "Gaming" in Microsoft's earnings reports, and is now simply called "Xbox." There's also a new definition of how growth will actually be determined at Xbox and exclusive games are quizzically a part of this metric.

"Growth of our XBOX business is determined by the overall active user base through XBOX enabled content, availability of games, providing exclusive game content that gamers seek, the computational power and reliability of the devices used to access our content and services, and the ability to create new experiences," the report reads.

This also helps give context to management's words about Xbox growth.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says that he expects Xbox to "return to growth" in FY27, which is the current fiscal year that ends in June 2027. So these are the metrics that will determine that growth at Xbox, and it's quite interesting that exclusivity is now a measure of growth, especially when just two years ago Microsoft was ready to break exclusivity for most--if not all--of its games.

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Question #1

What definition of 'growth' for the Xbox business does Microsoft provide in the FY26 report?

"Growth of our XBOX business is determined by the overall active user base through XBOX enabled content, availability of games, providing exclusive game content that gamers seek, the computational power and reliability of the devices used to access our content and services, and the ability to create new experiences," the FY26 report reads. This definition lists active user base, game availability, exclusive content, device computational power and reliability, and the ability to create new experiences as the metrics for Xbox growth.

Answered

Question #2

Which factors besides exclusive game content does Microsoft list as determining Xbox growth?

Microsoft lists the overall active user base through XBOX-enabled content, the availability of games, the computational power and reliability of the devices used to access its content and services, and the ability to create new experiences as factors determining Xbox growth.

Answered

Question #3

How many Xbox exclusives has Microsoft announced so far and which titles are mentioned?

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Question #4

How has Microsoft’s naming of its games division changed in recent filings?

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Only two Xbox exclusives have been announced so far, and Microsoft says that it plans to release at least one new exclusive Xbox game per year. This year's exclusive will be Gears of War E-Day, and 2027's exclusive Xbox game will be Clockwork Revolution from inXile.