- Sharma announced during an internal town hall that Microsoft Gaming is dead, and that the company will go back to the Xbox branding for its gaming division.
- The company officially became Microsoft Gaming in 2022 after the company announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard. Now-retired Phil Spencer was promoted to president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Ashar Sharma continues to cook! During a recent town hall, she closed the chapter on Microsoft Gaming and announced that Xbox is back.
It’s been a week of nothing but good news coming out of Xbox with the newly minted CEO Ashar Sharma hitting the ground running, and looking to restore the faith that was lost in the company over the years.
Microsoft Gaming Is No More!
Days after announcing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is getting a price cut, teasing a mysterious partnership with Discord, and news of gamers possibly being able to choose their own customized Xbox Game Pass plan, Sharma announced during an internal town hall that Microsoft Gaming is dead, and that the company will go back to the Xbox branding for its gaming division.
“Xbox needs to be our identity,” said Sharma, while admitting that she feels that Microsoft Gaming was a departure from that.
The company officially became Microsoft Gaming in 2022 after the company announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard. Now-retired Phil Spencer was promoted to president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
So Far, Asha Sharma Is Keeping Her Promise
Sharma’s decision to return to the Xbox branding is part of the “return of Xbox” promise she made following her ascension to CEO, in which she announced that the company would focus on fans while correcting past mistakes.
Some of those decisions, all of which have been well received, were the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass price cuts, no longer adding future Call of Duty titles to Game Pass at launch, and now bringing back Xbox branding.
According to The Verge, new Xbox branding has been popping up on Microsoft’s campus as the big showcase in June approaches.
We shall see whether Sharma also reverses course on the decision to bring Xbox’s first-party games to other platforms.
Until then, you can see more reactions to her decision in the gallery below.
