“Strengthening Xbox’s Console Business” Is His Main Concern Says New XBOX Strategy Boss

For XBOX, the big focus for the platform currently is to obtain new footing similar to the heyday of the brand. In the ‘We Are Xbox’ testament issued by Asha Sharma, emphasis on console-first sentiment as well as profitability is a core focus. As part of a recent poll on X, fans voted and the result rebanded ‘Xbox’ to ‘XBOX’ which is a sizeable change to bring a new feeling to the platform already.

On promises delivered, one major shift was the price drop for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate. With Call of Duty now removed from day-and-date releases for the subscription, value has returned to the tier. Additionally, Copilot was also shifted away from XBOX entirely. In the same stroke, Sharma also brought along new hires Tim Allen, Jonathan McKay, Jeff Palmer, and Evan Chaki of previously CoreAI are now at XBOX.

Now recently, more new hires are now part of the XBOX team. Via The Game Business, it was revealed that Matthew Ball & Scott Van Vliet will be joining Microsoft’s gaming division as chief strategy officer and chief technology officer respectively. Ball specifically draws attention for his ongoing involvement in analyzing the gaming market with The State of Video Gaming under his Epyllion banner.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Ball elaborated on his new stance upon joining XBOX leadership. One comment that stuck readers is that his ambition for the current state of the platform is that he “will be reviving storied franchises and strengthening Xbox’s console business.” Moreover, Ball elaborated that the console space at XBOX is “important, durable and still growing,”

Recently, little samples of what to expect from next-generation Project Helix did appear online. At GDC, Microsoft shared a glimpse at a new dashboard UI that is possible to be featured on the new system. And, a new boot up was released for Xbox Insiders using the new logo as well. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you excited with Ball’s involvement in XBOX moving forward?

Source: The Game Business