Report: Microsoft Shopping Option To Shift XBOX As Its Own Venture, Speeds Halo/Fallout Games Releases

The identity at XBOX is shifting to bring forth a better platform. This was established with the ‘We Are XBOX’ testament as well as the literal name change from ‘Xbox’ to ‘XBOX’ last month. The messaging for this new version of the platform is to deliver success and offer value to those invested in it. The addition of industry analyst Matthew Ball even amplified this with him stating his main focus is  “strengthening XBOX’s console business” when joining as its chief strategy officer.

The recent XBOX Games Showcase offered a taste of what is in store for XBOX coming later on. One is exclusives. It was confirmed two titles thus far will be unique to the platform. In the future, live-service releases are to remain multiplatform alongside a case-by-case formula to follow for other IPs. And, the XBOX firm even released a ‘Next 100 Days’ memo for the platform emphasizing on a “reset” for XBOX ultimately to ramp it up for success.

There are still decision to be made by greater Microsoft on the entire direction for XBOX moving forward too. According to The Information, elements of what is planned for the platform is not in stone just yet. What has been confirmed is the investment towards high profile first-party IPs, but the budget for that has yet to be established. Another is that Microsoft might spin-out the brand as its own subsidiary to deliver better success.

“As Microsoft gets ready to overhaul its struggling Xbox gaming unit, it hasn’t ruled out spinning out or restructuring the unit as a wholly-owned subsidiary, which could make it easier to sell, or creating a joint venture with other partners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions,” the report reads. This could imply better turnout for projects – mainly Halo, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls – as those were the focus groups.

The report also says that Asha Sharma has personally insisted on both Fallout & The Elder Scrolls to be in that discussion. The concept of spinning out a brand to stand as its own venture is comparable to Microsoft’s LinkedIn or GitHub. So far, CEO Satya Nadella & CFO Amy Hood have not decided on any restructuring plans yet, and have not ruled out repurposing XBOX’s relationship under Microsoft either.

It’s clear that the current mechanism for XBOX’s structure needs a new direction to follow. There have been attempts at multiple levels to do this and now new leadership is planning to directly handle the situation. One known attempt aligned with this report is the addition of Unreal Engine 5 for Halo. The adoption of the engine was said to aid faster development on future titles. You can read the full report by heading here.

Do you think this is a good direction for XBOX to head towards?

Source: The Information