Xbox Re-Evaluating Approach To Gaming

Microsoft Gaming is dead. More specifically, that branding is dead as Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told employees today at an internal town hall meeting that Microsoft is returning to using the Xbox name for its gaming division.

According to The Verge, Sharma explained that “Xbox needs to be our identity,” and Microsoft Gaming was seen as a departure from that. Microsoft originally switched to Microsoft Gaming when it announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2022.

The aim was to better align Microsoft’s gaming efforts across Xbox, PC, mobile, and the cloud. Now, it’ll fall under the more widely known Xbox branding, seen as an attempt to correct previous strategic mistakes. A new Xbox logo, with glass-like effects, has also been spotted on Microsoft’s campus.

In addition, the company has published a message on its website that they will “will re-evaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide”.

The rebrand comes on the heels of a busy week of announcements for the company, including an Xbox Game Pass price cut and the reversal of the decision to include future “Call of Duty” titles on Day 1 on Game Pass.

Several analysts have told GamesIndustry.biz that day-one “Call of Duty” games were not driving console sales or turbo-charging subscriptions to the service as hoped, while at the same time “leaving a substantial amount of revenue on the table through a loss in premium sales”.