The Xbox Series X|S generation has been an expensive console cycle lately, as the price of hardware and Game Pass subscriptions has increased in recent years. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has teased that news on the next generation of Xbox is “coming up” and that Microsoft also wants to protect the investment that its playerbase has in the Xbox ecosystem.
“Xbox players have thousands of dollars invested, in money and time too–it’s incredibly important for me to understand that and protect that,” Sharma said to Windows Central. “I am committed to ‘returning to Xbox,’ and that starts with console, that starts with hardware. You will hear more about that soon; we’ll have some announcements coming up. You will see us collectively investing here.”
Sharma added that Microsoft is aware that many of its players don’t use PC or consoles to play Xbox games–Microsoft has invested heavily in cloud gaming over the years–and the company still wants to cater to them. “I need to learn more about what that can look like, what decisions were made, what we need to do going forward, and I want a little bit of time and space to do that,” Sharma added.
Microsoft has been teasing new Xbox hardware for a while now, which will involve AMD. As part of AMD’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Lisa Su said that the Xbox console could launch as early as 2027, although it remains to be seen if the current hardware shortages driven by rapid investment in AI will have an impact on these plans. It’s also rumored that the next-gen Xbox could use AI to create gaming highlight reels, and Microsoft has hinted that the device could be more like a PC.
Meanwhile, Sharma began her first week at Xbox and has revealed how she plans to assist Microsoft’s studios in creating games with a deeper emotional resonance, as part of her strategy to see Xbox return to its roots.
