Xbox President Sarah Bond discusses the future — “Hardware is absolutely core to everything we do at Xbox. Our most valuable players love the hardware experience.”

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Microsoft’s Xbox brand is stressed.

As an analyst, I’ve been watching Xbox closely, and it’s clear things haven’t been smooth sailing recently. We’ve seen layoffs, price increases, significant drops in hardware sales, and a pullback from community interaction. Honestly, the speed at which Xbox has been changing its strategy since the pandemic began has created a lot of confusion, especially among its most dedicated fans, who are now questioning what the future holds for the platform.

Microsoft is sharing updates about Xbox’s future more and more through major news outlets, instead of communicating directly with its player base. This shift suggests Xbox is prioritizing profits and pleasing investors – particularly meeting the ambitious financial goals set by CFO Amy Hood – over focusing on what players and customers want.

Xbox President Sarah Bond recently discussed her career and shared some insights into the future of Xbox in an interview with Fortune.

Sarah Bond explained that in 2025, Xbox will focus on making gaming more accessible, but she also emphasized that powerful hardware will remain a key part of the Xbox experience.

At Xbox, our main goal is to make gaming simple and accessible for everyone. We understand players want to easily enjoy their games, and we’re using all the latest technology and improvements in the industry to make that happen more easily than ever before.

These changes might seem disruptive if you prefer things to stay the same. However, players actually want these features – they’re genuine improvements and additions to the game.

Sarah acknowledged that it’s been challenging to change how things are done at Xbox, especially as they move away from primarily selling hardware and focus more on making games available on different platforms.

For nearly 25 years, Xbox has been a trusted brand for gamers. As we approach our 25th anniversary, it’s clear how much people love and value Xbox. It holds a lot of meaning for our players, which makes any changes a difficult decision.

There are upcoming opportunities we need to invest in to keep the brand strong and growing. At the same time, we know many people already love Xbox as it is today.

We closely monitor key business indicators – like player numbers, playtime, purchase activity, and subscription rates. By paying attention to both player feedback and their in-game actions, we’re able to continually improve, adapt, and learn.

One of the biggest uncertainties surrounding Xbox’s future is whether Microsoft will continue to prioritize making gaming consoles. Since the start of the pandemic, Xbox has seen consistent drops in console sales, likely due to limited availability and less advertising. With prices increasing and Microsoft now releasing its games on competitor platforms, many are questioning why Xbox would continue investing in its own hardware.

According to Sarah Bond, Xbox is fundamentally a hardware company, and its most dedicated gamers continue to play within the Xbox world.

Hardware is central to everything we do at Xbox. Our dedicated players truly value the physical experience of playing, so we’re developing new, powerful hardware for the next generation. This will also allow players to access their games wherever they go.

Ultimately, players want access to their games on any device – whether it’s their console, PC, or through cloud streaming. Xbox is designed to start with the console experience, but then extend that experience across all screens, letting players take their games, friends, personal settings, and purchases with them wherever they go.

We previously shared that the next Xbox is expected to function much like a PC, allowing you to play games from your current Xbox collection. If Microsoft can make it both reasonably priced and easy to use like a traditional console, it could be a game-changer – but that’s a significant challenge.

Xbox’s strategy is sound on paper, but will it resonate beyond the board room?

I just finished a really insightful interview, and it dives deep into where Sarah envisions the Xbox brand going over the next few years. They’re making some pretty significant changes to both their hardware and software, and honestly, some of them are a bit surprising. It’s a fascinating look at the direction they’re taking things.

Now that Xbox doesn’t have any features that really set it apart from the competition, Microsoft is relying on its ‘Play Anywhere’ program to be a key draw for players. This is especially important now that even popular Xbox games like Halo are available on PlayStation. For many Xbox fans, there isn’t a strong reason to choose Xbox over other consoles, particularly if they aren’t interested in cloud gaming or the Play Anywhere feature.

Microsoft hopes Xbox Cloud Gaming and PC games will attract a wider range of players, expanding its audience beyond its current base. However, it’s hard to know if this strategy is working because Microsoft doesn’t release detailed information about how well Xbox is doing overall. They only report that hardware sales are down, which isn’t encouraging.

Xbox on PC feels incomplete, lacking key features and social connections. While Xbox Cloud Gaming can be useful, it doesn’t always work well. Microsoft says they listen to player feedback, but recent decisions – like removing exclusive games and raising the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by 50% – don’t seem to reflect what fans have asked for.

It’s understandable why people are skeptical of the brand, but there’s also reason to be hopeful. The Xbox platform has been quickly improving, Xbox Cloud Gaming is significantly faster, and Xbox Game Pass keeps adding a huge selection of great games – all despite the recent price increase. These improvements are undeniable.

Over the past year, Xbox has developed a negative reputation due to a series of missteps. Publicly identifying as an Xbox fan online often leads to mockery and negativity, which isn’t sustainable for the brand’s long-term success.

Microsoft is facing a tight deadline to improve its platform before Valve’s Steam Machine, which offers a similar experience, gains significant popularity. They may not have much time left to succeed.

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2025-11-17 20:10