Like A Phoenix From The Asha’s…
2026 has seen a lot of shake-up at Xbox (no, I’m not going to type XBOX every time) with Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond both leaving the corporation and Asha Sharma stepping in and bringing in a wide variety of people.
The initial hire was met with resentment and a fair bit of hate; horrifically funny morons gatekeeping gaming were scared of the woman who didn’t play many games, ha!
The Re-build.
Game Pass has reduced its price whilst booting Call of Duty out of the day one line-up. Whilst it didn’t fully go down to the price it was before, it seems it has had some decent impact anyway with Asha’s latest statement:
“Growth slowed down and subscriber loss accelerated after the pricing and SKU changes last year. Since our price reduction, we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step.“
This is positive to see; could Xbox be at the start of what could be a successful rebuild? The identity was so hurt by the Xbox One and “TELEVISION” god, what a nightmare showcase that was. The rebrand back to Xbox and kicking Microsoft gaming to the curb was met with positivity across the community and made Xbox fans start believing again.
The launch of the Xbox voice campaign has also been an interesting read; Xbox fans have clearly stated what they find important and exclusives seem to be the front runner. You can see what Xbox fans are striving for and wanting from their platform; some of these have already been actioned with Asha and team Xbox working hard.
Playability & Pull
Gamepass to me is still the best deal in gaming and the day one launches are the front runner to that, having just had Forza Horizon 6 and now we’re staring down the barrel at a new Halo, Fable and Gears, what will happen next at the showcase? I’d personally like to see Xbox fight for a spot in the market, they will never get near the likes of PlayStation and Nintendo, but keeping things like Halo and Gears on their platform would be a benefit for who they want to be, and that’s a serious competitor in this stacked era of gaming.
Oh, and by the way Xbox – you should advertise the Series S as the cheapest way to play GTA VI. I’ll be awaiting my job offer to work in your marketing team…
The overhaul to achievements and just these subtle changes are all brilliant stepping stones and setting a clear vision that change at Xbox isn’t just on the horizon – it’s here. The future is wide open and in your hands Asha. Don’t fuck it up!
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