Microsoft CEO commits to growing Xbox services

Microsoft's gaming efforts have continued to grow in recent years, making for a major turnaround of the Xbox One brand. Over four years since the console's launch, the Xbox brand has continued to climb to its former glory. And coming off the debut of the Xbox One X, the company's most powerful console to date, the reception to its latest endeavors is looking strong.

Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella has now spoken on the successes and potential of the Xbox brand, as a part of Microsoft's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday. As reported by DualShockers, Nadella reaffirmed the firm's commitment to gaming going forward, outlining plans for continued expansion into the market.

We're mobilizing to pursue an expansive opportunity in the 100+ billion gaming market. This means broadening our approach to how we think about gaming end-to-end. About starting with games and how they're created and distributed, and how they're played and viewed.

Nadella reportedly followed with comments on the company's ongoing attempt to unify its gaming experiences under the Xbox brand. Going forward the company is expected to continue "grow and engage the over 53 million Xbox Live members" with its gaming services, specifically naming Mixer and Xbox Game Pass as recent examples.

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Pointing toward a rework of how the company approaches game development and distribution, services play an increasingly crucial role in its gaming strategy. This also extends to games themselves, following the trend of "games-as-a-service," post-launch content streams and monetization within titles.

Regardless of the vague nature of Nadella's comments, it's clear Microsoft is embracing Xbox's recent successes in the industry. While the company has retrenched its consumer efforts in several spaces as of late, gaming remains an aspect of the portfolio seemingly here to stay.