Gaming / Xbox
On April 23, 2026, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty published a memo to Microsoft’s global games team titled “We Are Xbox”, laying out a new direction for the division. The memo dropped the “Microsoft Gaming” name — which had been in use since January 2022 — and replaced it with Xbox. Days before the memo, Sharma had already cut Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month, and reversed the policy of putting new Call of Duty titles on the service at launch.
The memo covered four strategic priorities — hardware, content, experience, and services — along with an acknowledgement that “players are frustrated,” and a pledge to reevaluate exclusivity and AI strategy. Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer in February 2026 after his 12-year tenure leading Xbox, is about 62 days into the role. Below is an interactive breakdown of what the rebrand covers, what changed on Game Pass, and what is planned for the next generation of Xbox hardware.
From Microsoft Gaming Back to Xbox — Inside the Rebrand, the Price Cuts, and the Plan
What Asha Sharma and Matt Booty’s April 2026 memo said, fact by fact
By the numbers
500M+
Players reached by Xbox globally, per the April 2026 memo
25
Years since the first Xbox console launched in North America (2001)
$22.99
New monthly price for Game Pass Ultimate — down from $29.99
62
Days into Sharma’s role when the “We Are Xbox” memo was published
25 Years, One Name Change — and Now a Return
Key moments from the original console to the April 2026 rebrand
November 2001
The First Xbox Launches
Microsoft’s first gaming console launches in North America on November 15, 2001. Built around a 733 MHz Intel Pentium III processor and a custom Nvidia GPU, it was the first console to include a built-in hard drive. Launch titles included Halo: Combat Evolved, Project Gotham Racing, and Dead or Alive 3.
November 2002
Xbox Live Goes Online
Xbox Live launches on November 15, 2002 as a subscription-based online gaming service, requiring a broadband connection. It introduced online multiplayer, friends lists, and downloadable content to console gaming at scale. Within two months, around 250,000 players had subscribed.
January 2022
“Microsoft Gaming” Name Adopted
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announces a planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Phil Spencer is simultaneously promoted to CEO of the newly named Microsoft Gaming division, repositioning the brand across Xbox, PC, mobile, and cloud.
October 2023
Activision Blizzard Deal Closes
The Activision Blizzard acquisition closes, making Microsoft the owner of franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. The deal adds major first-party titles to the Xbox and Game Pass ecosystem.
February 2026
Asha Sharma Announced as New Xbox CEO
Phil Spencer exits after leading Xbox for approximately 12 years. Asha Sharma, previously president of product development for Microsoft’s CoreAI division — and earlier at Porch, Meta, and Instacart — is announced as the new Xbox CEO. Matt Booty, a 16-year Xbox veteran, continues as chief content officer alongside her.
March 2026 — GDC
Project Helix Detailed at GDC
At the 2026 Game Developers Conference, Xbox VP Jason Ronald presents details on Project Helix — the codename for the next-generation Xbox console. Powered by a custom AMD SoC with AMD FSR Next, it is designed to play both Xbox console games and PC titles. Alpha developer kits are planned for shipment to studios in 2027. On April 22, 2026, Xbox VP Jason Ronald confirmed Project Helix will be a first-party Microsoft console.
Day 35 in Role
“This Is an Xbox” Campaign Retired
Sharma retires the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign, which had de-emphasised the Xbox console as the primary way to play Xbox games.
April 21, 2026 — Day 60
Game Pass Price Cut
Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99/month. PC Game Pass drops from $16.49 to $13.99/month. New Call of Duty titles are removed from day-one availability on all Game Pass tiers — they will instead join the service approximately one year after launch. Existing Call of Duty titles on the service remain available.
April 23, 2026 — Day 62
We Are Xbox — The Rebrand Memo
Sharma and Booty publish “We Are Xbox” to all Team Xbox employees globally. The memo formally drops the Microsoft Gaming name, sets four priorities (hardware, content, experience, services), declares “daily active players” as the new north star metric, and addresses exclusivity, affordability, and the global competitiveness of the games industry. New Xbox branding — including a glass-effect logo — begins appearing on Microsoft’s campus.
Game Pass Pricing: What Changed
The price cuts took effect April 21, 2026 — 60 days after Sharma’s appointment was announced
Game Pass Ultimate — Before
$29.99
Raised 50% in October 2025 from the previous $20/month rate
Game Pass Ultimate — After
$22.99 /mo
23% reduction from $29.99. PC Game Pass also drops from $16.49 to $13.99/month
⚠ Call of Duty — Changed Access Policy
Future Call of Duty titles will not be available on Game Pass on their release day. Starting with the next entry (expected October 2026), new titles join the service approximately one year after launch — typically the following holiday season. All existing Call of Duty titles already on Game Pass remain accessible. Other day-one Xbox Game Studios releases are unaffected by this change.
The Four Priorities
The memo outlines Xbox’s strategy through four areas — select each to explore what was stated
Stabilise Gen 9
Xbox Series X and Series S consoles to be treated as a “healthy and high-quality base.” Sharma confirmed a dedicated team has been formed to focus on console performance, reliability, and regular platform updates — areas the memo acknowledges were under-invested.
Deliver Project Helix
The next-generation console, powered by a custom AMD SoC with AMD FSR Next, is designed to play both Xbox console and PC games. It delivers what Microsoft describes as “an order of magnitude leap” in ray tracing performance. Developer alpha kits are planned for 2027. Confirmed as a first-party Microsoft console — not a licensed chip for third parties.
Lead in Accessories
The memo calls for leading “in comfortable, personal, high-performance accessories” as part of the overall hardware priority.
Build Ecosystem Reach
Expand choice and reach across the Xbox hardware and software ecosystem, including the ongoing rollout of Xbox Mode on Windows 11 — which began in select markets in April 2026 ahead of Project Helix.
Grow Franchise Portfolio
The plan is to grow and extend an “enduring portfolio of franchises players love.” Matt Booty told Game File that the fundamentals — predictable cadence, a robust roadmap, and a focus on quality — can “create the conditions for the lightning in a bottle of winning Game of the Year.” Recent releases include South of Midnight and Double Fine’s Kiln.
Expand Globally and Into Mobile
The memo identifies China, emerging markets, and mobile-first audiences as expansion targets. It notes that more than half of the games market’s revenue, players, and growth are now happening outside Xbox’s core markets.
Maintain Live Games
Long-term stewardship of live-service games is listed as a specific content goal, reflecting the sustained revenue importance of ongoing titles.
Elevate Creator Platforms
The memo specifically names Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Sea of Thieves as creator-centric platforms to elevate — titles where player-generated content and community are central to the experience. For more on upcoming releases in the Xbox ecosystem, see our coverage of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.
Fix Fundamentals
The memo acknowledges that new feature drops on console have been less frequent and that core experiences like search, discovery, social, and personalisation “still feel too fragmented.” Fixing these is listed as a top experience priority.
Best Platform for Developers
The goal is to make Xbox “the best place for developers and creators to build and grow,” with better tools, better insights, and a platform that helps them reach audiences faster.
Overhaul Discovery and Social
The plan calls for overhauling discovery, customisation, social, and personalisation to better connect the Xbox community — areas identified as lagging in the memo.
Strengthen PC Presence
The memo states that “our presence on PC isn’t strong enough,” and describes Windows as increasingly the place where competition for players is most intense — ahead of console.
Fortify Game Pass
The memo calls for fortifying Game Pass “with clear differentiation and sustainable economics.” The April 21 price cut — reducing Ultimate to $22.99/month — is the first implementation of this. Sharma described the goal as getting more players “who love the subscription, that are staying longer and that are happy.”
Return to Durable Growth
The goal is to return the business to durable growth with strong cost discipline. Sharma stated the expectation is for Xbox to return to growth, without specifying targets or a timeline for hardware sales.
Cloud Play — Native and Fast
Xbox aims to make cloud play “feel native, fast, and reliable across TVs and low-cost devices,” positioning cloud as the layer that brings console-quality experiences to any device beyond the Series X/S hardware.
M&A as a Growth Tool
The memo states Xbox will “use M&A deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow” — an explicit acknowledgement that further studio or company acquisitions remain on the table.
Xbox team values — from the April 23 memo
What the Memo Left Open
Several significant topics were acknowledged but not resolved — tap each to read what was said
Exclusivity — no decision yet
The memo states Xbox “will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide.” When asked for a timeline, Sharma said there was “nothing we’re ready to commit to,” noting she was around 60 days into the role. She described these as “long-swinging decisions that have decade-long impact” and said the plan is to take a data-driven and strategic approach before making any calls. Related: see how the broader gaming landscape is shifting heading into the next console cycle.
Xbox console sales — no growth targets shared
Microsoft’s quarterly earnings reports have shown years of hardware revenue declines. Sharma said she could not share guidance on specific sales figures, but stated the expectation is for the Xbox division to “return to growth next year.” The new north star metric named in the memo is daily active players rather than unit sales. She added: “There’s no silver bullets, and our focus is going to be: how many players are playing every single day in the Xbox ecosystem?”
Affordability — commitment without specifics
The memo describes Xbox as being built to be “affordable, personal, and open.” Sharma acknowledged that historically Xbox’s pricing has not been flexible enough, pointing to the Game Pass price cut as the first step. On hardware pricing, she said: “There’s a reality to the market that we’re in, so there’s no promises around what the price points are or anything like that. But I want to make sure that people around the world are able to play.” Project Helix pricing has not been officially announced.
Platform “openness” — scope still undefined
The memo uses the word “open” to describe the future Xbox platform. Sharma clarified this refers to the platform being open “for more people to create on the platform and more players to participate in customising and extending that.” When asked specifically whether third-party storefronts like Steam or the Epic Games Store might operate on Project Helix hardware — as Epic’s Steve Allison had previously suggested was Microsoft’s intent — Sharma said: “I wasn’t part of those conversations, so we’ll make those decisions going forward as a team and with our partners.” No commitment was made. Project Helix has since been confirmed as a first-party Xbox console, not a licensed chipset for third-party manufacturers. Also read: what the next wave of gaming content looks like.
The April 23, 2026 memo from Asha Sharma and Matt Booty covered the name change from Microsoft Gaming back to Xbox, the four-pillar strategy of hardware, content, experience, and services, and the new north star of daily active players. The document was published on day 62 of Sharma’s tenure, following the retirement of the “This is an Xbox” campaign on day 35 and the Game Pass price cuts on day 60.
Questions around exclusivity, Project Helix pricing, and the precise scope of platform openness were acknowledged in the memo but left without firm commitments. The division’s Game Pass pricing structure and Call of Duty release policy were covered, as were the 25-year milestone and the competitive pressures — including from developers in non-Western markets — outlined by Sharma and Booty. The official statement is available in full on Xbox Wire.