Asha Sharma has been the new head of Xbox for about a month now. What are her bold plans for trying to reverse the platform’s recent decline? According to The Information, better slogans and exploring possible deals to bundle Game Pass with Netflix.
A new profile of the recently appointed Microsoft Gaming CEO details some of the nascent rumblings coming out of the division’s post–Phil Spencer era. Those include that Sharma was reportedly the one to decide to have the “This Is An Xbox” marketing campaign not only discontinued but all mentions of it ever existing quickly nuked from Microsoft’s public-facing channels after she took over.
The report also includes a vote of confidence from Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, who apparently “kicked around ideas” with Sharma about ways to evolve Game Pass, including bundling it with Netflix. The driving force behind these talks was reportedly to figure out ways to make Game Pass more affordable.
There’s definitely a bit of “we’re trying to find the person who did this” energy there, considering Microsoft doubled the price for Game Pass Ultimate to $30 just last fall and has been enshittifying the service in tiny but noticeable ways over the last few years. Another way to bring down the cost would be an ad-supported tier, which Microsoft has reportedly been exploring for some time.
Netflix finally introduced its own version of that back in 2022 after years of claiming it would never embrace ads. The revenue is just too good for companies to ignore, however. Not only do they expand subscriptions by offering a lower point of entry, but they also get to monetize users in new ways.
While finding ways to expand the reach of Game Pass certainly can’t hurt for Xbox, it’s not exactly the bold new direction some fans have been hoping for ever since Sharma teased a return to the console’s “roots” back when the reorg happened. Project Helix, a gaming PC that plays Xbox games, also feels like more of the same relative to what we’ve been hearing about Microsoft’s console plans.
If there’s a bold new direction coming to Xbox, Sharma has yet to signal one.