- Asha Sharma spoke at a town hall meeting, explaining that Xbox needs new franchises to survive.
- She argues that relying on established billion-dollar franchises won’t be enough for the company.
- The brand aims to reach new audiences with fresh IPs in the future.
Xbox is undergoing a devastating restructuring, which has seen hundreds of developers lose jobs and studios go independent or close entirely. These controversial changes come as Asha Sharma prepares Microsoft’s struggling gaming brand to face a volatile future.
The Xbox CEO has now highlighted the importance of creating fresh IPs for the brand’s survival.
Asha argues the focus is still on Xbox’s biggest multi-million dollar gaming franchises, but she knows there still needs to be a place for ‘creativity and newness’ to survive.
Why it matters: Asha Sharma recognizes the importance of expanding its portfolio via new franchises to grow the overall brand in the future. However, creating AAA IPs is an incredibly risky maneuver, a double-edged sword that could massively backfire.
As reported by Windows Central, Asha Sharma spoke in an internal meeting to employees and executives about not relying on past victories and nostalgia to push the brand forward. She plans for first-party studios to create ‘enduring new IP[s]’ for reeling in fresh players.
I would also like to see us continue to create enduring new IP. We will not survive if we only revive [rely?] on the past.
-New Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma.
These new franchises could explore unique genres that attract a fresh batch of users to the platform. Asha argues that its first-party studios need ‘to find new ways and courage’ to invent franchises that attract ‘new sets of audiences.’
On a side note, Asha Sharma has already introduced an entirely new division to push first-party franchises forward into movies and other products to extract more value out of them.
She also claimed Xbox overall saw a 30% increase in positive sentiment compared to last year. The brand was previously in free fall, but it’s returning to profitability over time, so creating new successful franchises will only help Xbox grow like never before.
Do you think Xbox game studios will produce new AAA first-party franchises in the coming years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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