Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Details 2030 Growth Plan After Slump
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has outlined a turnaround strategy aimed at returning the division to growth by the end of fiscal year 2027, or June 30, 2027. The plan appears in a memo to Xbox staff that The Verge obtained and reported on. Sharma organized the strategy around four pillars: Core, Content, Creation, and Connection.
According to the memo, Core focuses on strengthening Xbox’s platform, with console gaming serving as its foundation. Content involves developing Xbox games into global franchises, while Creation aims to make Minecraft “the world’s creator platform.” Connection means expanding the worlds and communities that fans already value.
The plan follows a difficult financial year. Xbox revenue fell 7 percent, or approximately $1.7 billion, in the latest fiscal year, according to The Verge’s reporting on the memo. Separately, other reporting cited a 10 percent year-over-year decline for the quarter ending June 30.
Sharma wrote that more than 200 million new players came to Xbox and its games during FY2026, but the business did not grow alongside that audience. The memo says Xbox’s immediate goal is to “close that gap by investing in what players value.”
The longer-term timetable extends through FY2030. Sharma said FY2028 and FY2029 should bring “meaningful player value and revenue acceleration,” while FY2030 targets sustained double-digit growth in players and engagement, along with industry-leading margins.
The strategy affects Xbox’s players, employees, game studios, franchise teams, hardware customers, and external partners. Its implementation will determine how Microsoft allocates resources across the Xbox platform, its content portfolio, creative initiatives, and the broader partnerships built around its gaming properties.
Xbox’s 2030 Audience Target and Profit Challenge
Xbox is targeting sustained double-digit growth in players and engagement by FY2030, while also pursuing industry-leading profit margins. In a staff memo obtained by The Verge, CEO Asha Sharma said Xbox currently reaches more than 100 million people daily, 500 million monthly and nearly 1 billion annually.
Sharma described FY2030 as the point when Xbox would be “halfway to our long-term daily-player goal.” The memo reportedly does not state the interim figure directly; coverage of the plan commonly interprets it as 500 million daily active users, based on Xbox’s long-term ambition to reach more than 1 billion daily players.
The target is not limited to acquiring users. Sharma’s plan calls for sustained double-digit growth in both players and engagement, meaning Xbox must increase how often and how deeply people use its games and services. That challenge is underscored by Xbox’s claim that more than 200 million new players joined its ecosystem and games in FY2026, while the business still failed to grow alongside its audience.
According to the reported financial figures, Xbox revenue fell 7% year over year in FY2026, a decline of approximately $1.7 billion. Revenue also dropped 10% in the quarter ending June 30, according to reporting on Microsoft’s results.
Profitability presents a further hurdle. Xbox ended the fiscal year with an internally reported margin of approximately 3%, according to the same reporting; this is an Xbox-specific internal figure and should not be confused with Microsoft’s consolidated results. For context only, the reports place Sony’s margin at roughly 10% and Nintendo’s at 16%, though those figures are not necessarily calculated on a like-for-like basis.
For players, the plan means Xbox is measuring success by a combination of audience scale, engagement and financial performance—not daily-user growth alone. The company has said it expects to return to growth by the end of FY2027, with the larger audience and margin targets extending through FY2030.
Franchises, Console Strategy, and Cross-Media Expansion
Franchises, Console Strategy, and Cross-Media Expansion
Xbox will keep console gaming at the center of its business while concentrating development and investment on its largest franchises. In a staff memo obtained by The Verge, CEO Asha Sharma said console generates the majority of Xbox revenue and remains “the foundation of our fandom.”
Microsoft is working on a next-generation Xbox system codenamed Project Helix, according to the memo. The document does not confirm a price or specific hardware components. Separate reports have suggested the system could cost more than $1,000 because of memory and component shortages, but those claims were not included as confirmed details in Sharma’s staff communication.
Sharma also outlined a move away from Xbox’s decentralized development model toward one focused “around our strongest franchises and biggest new ideas.” The shift follows the divestment of five studios, according to the memo’s reporting. That figure is separate from reports about four studio closures and another planned closure; divestments and closures should not be treated as the same action.
Xbox leadership is preparing long-term plans for major properties including Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, with Halo and Minecraft also part of the broader portfolio. Sharma said Xbox has three franchises generating at least $1 billion annually but did not name them. Separate reporting has identified those properties as Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Candy Crush, though Xbox has not publicly confirmed that lineup in the memo.
Microsoft plans to invest in Minecraft “more than ever before” and develop it into a creator platform, according to Sharma. The broader franchise strategy extends beyond games to film, television, consumer products, live experiences, sponsorships and expanded activity in China.
Several projects illustrate that approach. A Call of Duty film with Paramount is planned for 2028. A Gears of War film and an animated series are in development for Netflix, while a new Minecraft film is planned for July 2027. A third season of Fallout is in production, and a Sea of Thieves movie is also in development.
Microsoft has roughly a dozen film and television projects in development across its franchises, according to the reporting. The projects are at different stages, and the reported slate does not mean every title has a confirmed release date. For players, the strategy signals that Xbox intends to use its major game worlds across hardware, games and entertainment rather than relying on game sales alone.
Layoffs, Restructuring, and What Comes Next for Xbox
Layoffs, Restructuring, and What Comes Next for Xbox
Xbox has laid off 1,600 employees and plans to eliminate another 1,600 positions over the following year, according to reporting based on Sharma’s staff memo. The figures refer to Xbox employees, rather than Microsoft’s wider workforce. The restructuring comes as Xbox attempts to improve revenue, engagement, and profitability after its latest annual revenue decline.
The studio impact is separate from the workforce figures. Reports say four Xbox studios have been closed and another was planned for closure, while the company has also divested five studios as part of a broader shift toward its strongest franchises and biggest new ideas. The available reporting does not confirm the identities of the studios involved in the closures, so no individual studios are named here.
Sharma acknowledged that the recovery will take time but said she expects tangible progress within the next 12 months, according to the memo. She has projected that Xbox will return to growth by the end of fiscal year 2027; the company’s 2030 audience, engagement, and margin goals remain future targets rather than results already achieved.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also addressed the reset during an investor call, saying the company must make “necessary decisions across our content portfolio, platform, and operations to reset the business for long term growth.” His statement places the Xbox changes under broader Microsoft oversight rather than treating them solely as a game-development issue.
The central test will be whether Xbox can convert its large audience into sustained revenue and engagement growth while improving margins. That will require the company to support its console business, concentrate resources on a more focused portfolio, and expand major franchises without further weakening the studios and teams responsible for delivering them.
For employees and affected studios, the plan means continued near-term disruption through layoffs, closures, and restructuring. Players may instead see greater emphasis on major franchises, Minecraft, cross-media projects, and the next-generation console effort. Whether those investments deliver the projected results will become clearer through Xbox’s performance over the next year and its progress toward the fiscal 2027 and 2030 milestones.