Xbox chief Asha Sharma remains undecided on console exclusivity

Just over 100 days into leading Microsoft’s gaming division, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has yet to settle the debate over console exclusivity. During a recent appearance at Bloomberg Tech Live, she was pressed on whether Microsoft can maintain exclusive first-party titles while simultaneously operating as one of the world’s largest third-party publishers. Her response, however, offered little resolution.

Sharma acknowledged that platforms “need” exclusive content, but she also stressed that successful publishers must reach audiences wherever they are. “I think it’s a tough topic,” she said. “Look, we’re the number two publisher in the world and, in order to be a great publisher, you must have your games reach large audiences to play.” She then pivoted to the platform side: “At the same time, we’re increasingly becoming a platform. In order to be a platform, you must have exclusive content and so, we’re looking at that very closely.”

The executive quickly circled back to what many interpret as Xbox’s long-standing position: “I think that we have to be very thoughtful about each title, on how we want to think about it, and learn from similar cases in the industry. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Since taking over Microsoft’s gaming operations, Sharma has talked about reviving the brand and “returning to Xbox.” This rhetoric has included broader recommitments to Xbox hardware and vague hints about potentially adjusting the exclusivity strategy. But beyond renaming Microsoft Gaming to Xbox and debating whether rival platform logos should appear on Xbox livestreams, no concrete decisions have been made. Games already announced for PlayStation 5 remain on track, and there is little evidence that unannounced first-party titles will be limited to Xbox and PC.

The most tangible change Sharma has implemented so far is a price cut for Xbox Game Pass, though it came at the cost of removing Call of Duty from the service.

One of the more revealing moments from the Bloomberg Tech Live interview was Sharma’s statement on financial targets. She clarified that Microsoft does not expect Xbox to hit the standard 30 percent profit margin typical of its software divisions. “So my mandate is not 30 percent accountability margin,” she said. “It’s not enterprise software margins. It’s to be the number one gaming and entertainment company, and that’s what we’re going to go do.”

That 30 percent figure had been cited in a recent report as a driver behind Xbox’s aggressive layoffs and its push to publish games on competing platforms. While Microsoft never officially confirmed that margin target, Sharma’s explicit denial that it applies to Xbox adds a new layer of context to those earlier claims.