Xbox CEO Balances Exclusives With Broad Reach in First 100 Days

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says platforms must have exclusive content and services while she looks "very closely" at the company's exclusivity strategy. Her comments came during a Bloomberg Live event as she marked her first 100 days in the role.

Sharma describes exclusivity as a tough balancing act. She stated it is "a tough topic" because "we’re the number two publisher in the world and in order to be a great publisher, you must have your games reach large audiences to play." At the same time "we’re increasingly becoming a platform, and in order to become a platform, you must have exclusive content and services." Sharma added that "we’re looking at that very closely" and "we have to be very thoughtful about each title" while learning from similar cases in the industry.

Her first 100 days produced measurable progress. Sharma said her first hundred days as Xbox CEO "would be hard to beat." She noted "we’ve done so much to start to revive Xbox" and "we’ve shipped more in the last 100 days than we have in the last year." Game Pass was reset after an eight-month decline and "it’s now returned to growth and expanding retention."

Closer community ties form a key priority. Sharma said "most importantly, we’re starting to get back to being closer to our players and community." She succeeded Phil Spencer as Xbox CEO earlier this year and kicked off a charm offensive with core fans. The executive has committed to acting on player feedback regarding the console experience and policies.

Long-term goal targets industry leadership. Sharma’s ideal long-term goal is to grow Xbox to the number one gaming and entertainment company. In the next 100 days she plans to "reset the business" by examining how the company invests, prioritises, and operates. The aim is "to return to growth and be where the world plays."

The first major event under her leadership arrives this weekend. Sharma’s first big Xbox event as CEO is the Xbox Games Showcase. It is due to kick off this weekend on Sunday, June 7. The appearance at the Bloomberg Live event also included discussion of early lessons in charge of Microsoft’s gaming arm.