‘We are Xbox’ Asha Sharma and Matt Booty share memo with the Team

New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty have hosted a Town Hall meeting and shared a Memo with all Xbox employees that has shifted the vibe and set sights on new priorities for Team Xbox.

Shared on Xbox Wire, the straight to the point memo sets the strategy going forward but not before highlighting where Xbox has been lacking including less frequent console feature drops, presence on PC not being strong enough and platform features “like search, discovery, social, and personalisation still feel too fragmented.”

Players are frustrated.

Whilst some topics have been well covered before such as people playing where they want, and challenges with new generations of players wanting different things from their Video Games, this memo is the most urgent Xbox has sounded in years.

Xbox will be built to be affordable, personal, and open.

Asha and Matt spell out four main priorities for the platform to better support players and developers alike:

Hardware

• Stabilize Gen Nine as a healthy and high-quality base 
• Deliver Project Helix to lead in performance and play your console and PC games
• Lead in comfortable, personal, high-performance accessories
• Build a strong ecosystem that expands choice and reach

Content 

• Grow and extend an enduring portfolio of franchises players love
• Evolve our 3P partnerships and strengthen our 5-year slate
• Expand into China, emerging markets, and mobile-first audiences 
• Maintain and grow in live games and long-term stewardship
• Elevate creator-centric platforms like Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, and Sea of Thieves

Experience

• Fix the fundamentals for players and partners 
• Make Xbox the best place for developers and creators to build and grow 
• Overhaul discovery, customization, social and personalization to connect the community 

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 [Mergers and Acquisitions] deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow

Whilst I think a lot of this was already the direction, there are some notable highlights that are either new or reassuring to hear including the recommitment to the Xbox Series generation, the doubling down on accessory support, continued support for a sustainable Game Pass (aligns with recent changes to reduce price) and the fact that further acquisitions are a possibility.

Asha and Matt have also safely left the door open on some decisions that have divided Xbox fans these past few years “we will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide.”

To cement the tone going forward, the Microsoft Gaming division will return to its team name to just, Xbox. A new logo has also been shared, which is the featured image above.

As the memo wraps up, the team are given ten guiding principals:

We have to be honest about where we are. We’re a challenger, and meeting this moment will require pace, energy, and a level of self-critique that should feel uncomfortable. At our best we: 

1. Earn every player 
2. Protect our art 
3. Stay rebellious 
4. Progress over perfection 
5. Signal over ceremony
6. Core before more
7. Outwork the problem 
8. Speed is learning
9. Makers over managers
10. Clarity is kindness

If you are interested in reading the whole memo you can find it at Xbox Wire here.

These words follow a few weeks of action where we seen Call of Duty dropped from Xbox Game Pass Ultimate day one going forward resulting in a $120 AUD a year reduction in the subscription cost and new console features announced including the ability to hide games from your achievement list.

Xbox still has a lot to prove but it feels good to see urgency from the company again, noting what is as well established in Gaming, competition benefits the player.