Xbox CEO says platforms ‘must have exclusive content’ as she weighs exclusivity shift

Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma has reiterated that she is looking “very closely” at the platform’s exclusive content strategy, and suggested her first 100 days in charge have been a success.

Speaking during a Bloomberg Live event on Thursday (transcribed by VGC), Sharma was asked about her early lessons in charge of Microsoft’s gaming arm and again pressed on its exclusivity strategy.

Sharma previously claimed that Xbox would “reevaluate” its approach to exclusivity, suggesting she was listening to the Xbox players who feel the platform has lost value due to Microsoft’s decision to bring its first-party games to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2.

“It’s a tough topic,” she said during Friday’s Bloomberg event. “Look, 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. And so, we’re looking at that very closely.

“I think that we have to be very thoughtful about each title, on how we want to think about it, and learn from some similar cases in the industry, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Sharma’s appearance marked her first hundred days as Xbox CEO, which she said would be hard to beat. According to the exec, her ideal long-term goal over the next few years is to grow Xbox to the number one gaming and entertainment company.

“We’ve done so much to start to revive Xbox,” she said. “We’ve shipped more in the last 100 days than we have in the last year. We’ve been able to reset Game Pass after an eight-month decline and it’s now returned to growth and expanding retention.

“Most importantly, we’re starting to get back to being closer to our players and community. I think in the next 100 days, we have to reset the business. We need to look at how we’re investing, how we’re prioritising, and change how we operate, in order to return to growth and be where the world plays.”

Sharma kicked off a charm offensive with core fans after succeeding Phil Spencer as Xbox CEO earlier this year. In addition to rebranding Xbox to XBOX and cutting Game Pass prices, the exec has committed to acting on player feedback regarding the console experience and policies.

The exec’s first big Xbox event as CEO, the Xbox Games Showcase, is due to kick off this weekend, on Sunday, June 7.