Windows Central Insider
In a rather lengthy interview with Entertainment Weekly, we received a lot of juicy details. From OD getting new information revealed to Netflix's Gears of War movie finally receiving some concrete updates, there's been plenty to unpack. While I've covered most of that elsewhere, it was Xbox's CEO, Asha Sharma's comments about her plans for XBOX's ecosystem that really caught my attention.
What's particularly interesting is that those plans extend far beyond the traditional console experience, so let's take a look at exactly what she had to say.
Within the interview, Sharma outlines her plans for XBOX, stating she wants:
a more open ecosystem to invite more developers, to have more types of games, to invite more players.
Asha Sharma - XBOX CEO
XBOX is making moves to entice developers. Recently, the company introduced updates to help developers working with Unreal Engine 5.8 and also released documentation designed to help Godot developers bring games to XBOX on PC.
Interestingly, we then move over to Todd Green, the head of Candy Crush and King, the company Microsoft acquired alongside Activision Blizzard in 2023. Green offered some insight into the company's approach, saying:
"The thing that we've been trying to do the most here is to treat everybody, whether they describe themselves as a gamer or not, [as important]. We try to have a very mainstream product."
Candy Crush is, of course, a huge IP for XBOX, even if many people don't associate it with the brand. Personally, I think that's one of XBOX's biggest issues. Franchises like Call of Duty and Minecraft are among the biggest entertainment properties on the planet, yet neither is strongly associated with XBOX in the minds of many consumers. If you ask me, that's a huge missed opportunity.
Back to Sharma, however. Following XBOX's Games Showcase, she sat down with Entertainment Weekly and discussed the state of gaming. In particular, she argued that gaming has become increasingly unaffordable.
Gaming is unaffordable in many cases, in terms of how we've traditionally thought about it... because of the attention economy and competing subscriptions.
Asha Sharma - XBOX CEO
She does expand, touching on how difficult the business is, saying:
"It's a really hard formula. It's a really challenging business, but I think it's a really special business."
It does suck to hear the words "gaming is unaffordable," but there's certainly some truth to it. We recently got the price reveal for the new Steam Machine, and to say the reception has been positive would be a stretch. At over $1,000, it's simply too expensive to seriously consider, at least for me.
That said, I do understand the broader point Sharma is making. Between increasingly expensive hardware, competing subscription services, and the constant battle for our attention, gaming isn't as accessible as it once was. Whether mobile experiences like Candy Crush are the answer, however, is another debate entirely.
But let me know your thoughts on Sharma and Green's comments in the comments below, and be sure to take part in our poll!
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