"Sharma is “treading carefully” and is not yet ready to sign off on “any major changes” to the policy. This is hardly a surprise. Before this, Sharma said she's trying to make “the right decision, not the fastest decision.” Whatever Sharma and the team land on in terms of exclusives will amount to “long-swinging decisions that have decade-long impact,” she said."
"Sharma said she will take a “data-driven approach and a strategic-driven approach” to decide what happens next. She also declined to provide a timeline for when a decision may be made. Fans have called on Microsoft to return to exclusive games-- and Sharma has heard those calls--but it remains to be seen if anything will actually change."
"Microsoft released exclusive games for years, but that changed in a big way in 2024 when the company launched a new campaign to bring its first-party games to rival consoles, including PS5 and Switch, in addition to PC. This shift reportedly came as part of a directive from Microsoft management to increase margins, and that's something Microsoft denied. Whatever the case, bringing Xbox games to rival systems has made Microsoft a lot of money."
"Microsoft has maintained that the shift in strategy to release more games on rival platforms was an effort to break down the traditional console walls and meet people where they are. But the decision was criticized by core fans. Microsoft releases games on rival platforms on a title-by-title basis, so there is no one specific formula that the company follows in this regard."
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is evaluating options for Xbox exclusive games while treading carefully and not ready to approve major changes to the multiplatform policy. Sharma aims to make the right decision rather than the fastest decision, describing exclusives decisions as long-term choices with decade-long impact. She plans to use both data-driven and strategic-driven approaches and declined to provide a timeline for any decision. Fans have urged Microsoft to return to exclusive games, but it remains unclear whether changes will occur. Microsoft shifted in 2024 toward releasing first-party games on rival consoles like PS5 and Switch alongside PC, a move that reportedly targeted higher margins, which Microsoft denied. The strategy has generated significant revenue, while core fans criticized the title-by-title approach.
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