Can Matthew Ball reverse Microsoft’s stagnating console gaming business? That’s the job he’s been tasked with as Xbox’s new chief strategy officer. Asha Sharma announced that the venture capital analyst is joining her executive leadership team, with a focus on revitalizing Xbox’s hardware fortunes on the eve of Project Helix’s next-gen rollout.
“Matthew has been partnering with us on strategy since day 10 and will officially start this month, reporting to me,” Sharma wrote in a memo to staff on Wednesday, according to The Verge. She called him a “long-time gamer” and noted that he’s “widely respected across gaming, media, and technology. The Game Business reports that his “first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox.”
While well known in tech circles, especially following the publication of his 2022 book The Metaverse, which outlined the promise and challenges facing the growth of 3D internet spaces like Meta Horizon, Fortnite, and Roblox, Ball has less of a reputation in the gaming industry. That’s been changing over the last few years as he’s put out viral, hundred-slide PowerPoint presentations breaking down the biggest trends in gaming, backed up by synthesized data and eye-catching graphs.
Ball’s most recent report on the state of the game industry, published earlier this year, warned that consoles were stagnating and traditional gaming was losing the attention war with the rise of short-form video, gambling, and adult content apps on smartphones. It pointed to growth in China and on Roblox, but painted a grim picture of the AAA blockbuster market that had historically been the center of gravity for gaming.
Sharma echoed many of these same trends and concerns in her recent memo to Xbox staff outlining the division’s core values and goals as it works to win back fans and overhaul a gaming platform that’s struggled to compete against Sony and Nintendo this generation. While Microsoft touts record numbers of active users across its sprawling network of services from Candy Crush to Call of Duty, Xbox hardware keeps facing steep declines year-over-year, and Game Pass’ growth appears to have hit a wall despite nearly $80 billion in publisher and studio acquisitions.
Alongside Ball’s hiring, Sharma also appointed Scott Van Vliet, who previously led Azure AI infrastructure at Microsoft, as Xbox’s new CTO, and made Chris Schnakenberg, a long-time Activision veteran, VP of partnerships and business development. These moves come after a number of other leadership changes made by Sharma after taking over for Phil Spencer earlier in the year.
“That’s quite a world class team being assembled and foreshadows serious dedication to the future of gaming for Windows, Xbox, Minecraft, Call of Duty, and the many world class studios in the Microsoft family,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X.