Microsoft indicates it could revive Xbox exclusive games after a phase-out period.
Xbox CEO asha sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty mentioned the possibility in a message sent to the company’s gaming staff on Thursday, focused on establishing a “master plan” for Xbox to compete in a new era of gaming.
“Along the way, we’ll reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windows, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide,” they wrote.
Microsoft’s 2024 push to move away from Xbox exclusives has been controversial; The company’s former gaming director, Phil Spencer, defended the change as a way to expand the user base of Xbox games and keep them viable. But reducing exclusivity also undermines the incentive to buy an Xbox console, as franchises like gears of war and Halo They will also be released on PlayStation 5.
Sharma and Booty’s memo admits that “gamers are frustrated. New feature drops on console have been less frequent. Our presence on PC isn’t strong enough. Pricing is getting harder for people to follow. And core experiences like search, discovery, social, and customization still feel too fragmented.”
“The model that brought us here will not be the one that moves us forward,” they add, highlighting greater competition and the rise of foreign game studios; “Some of the biggest recent successes have come from small teams or even individual creators,” they write.
In a refreshing sign, executives said their “new north star will be daily active players,” rather than revenue or Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. A priority is also “fixing the fundamentals for players and partners.”
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Additionally, the company’s message notes that “Xbox will be built to be affordable, personal and open,” amid concerns that the next-generation console could be expensiveespecially since memory shortages are expected to persist until 2030. The next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, could launch in 2027 or 2028.
The memo adds: “We will offer flexible pricing to make it easy to get started and keep playing.” Earlier this week, Microsoft also lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass, although it banned access to new Call of Duty games at launch.
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I have been a journalist for more than 15 years. I started as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I currently reside in San Francisco, but previously spent more than five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I have covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing more than 600 stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over expanding satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I scoured the FCC files for the latest news and drove to remote corners of California to test Starlink cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly collecting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint report investigation with motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages took me camping vs. Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. Now I’m tracking how the AI-driven memory shortage is affecting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so hit the comments with your feedback and send me tips.
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