While Xbox’s new leader Asha Sharma teases next-gen Project Helix hardware, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reiterates plans to expand and extend Xbox well beyond consoles.
Xbox has spent the last decade trying to move away from its unprofitable console hardware business, first branching into PC on a unified level with Windows 10, and then bringing Xbox games to mobile devices via Project xCloud. In more recent years, Microsoft broke exclusivity for good and all to ensure its software could be sold everywhere possible–even rival systems like the PlayStation 5. This plan has worked well for Microsoft in the short- to medium-term, leading to boosted revenues via expanded sales.
Microsoft isn’t done expanding, though. In a recent internal town hall meeting with employees (per Windows Central), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the future of Xbox, saying that the main goal for the division is to ultimately find the most broad, all-encompassing form of gaming. This sure sounds like Nadella is talking about some sort of new evolved medium for gaming (maybe something like Hideo Kojima’s new cloud-powered horror game, OD?).
It’s also believed that Microsoft will release a free version of Xbox Cloud Gaming that’s made available in specific countries, especially ones where PC and console install bases are typically low (like, say, India). This new free cloud gaming is expected to be monetized via advertisements, and Microsoft has already begun testing its ad-supported cloud gaming option internally.
The combination of cloud-native games, which have also been teased by new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, combined with widespread and free access could count as ways to “extend” and “expand” gaming in the ways that Nadella would like.
Below is an excerpt from the meeting:
“That’s why I’m long on [gaming].
“Phil, he’s always talked to me about how gaming is the largest entertainment category. What is gaming in its most expansive form going forward? This doesn’t mean we walk away from what people are doing today, when we think about a AAA game on a console.
“The question is about where else can we go to extend that. For me, we’re long on gaming. We’ll continue to invest, and we’ll always do so.
“It’s up to this team to show an excellence in execution, and creativity.
“Software always carries risk, but this is software with lots of creation risk. It’s way different. But yet, we have to be the best-in-class at it.”