Microsoft continues its commitment to returning to video games after replacing Phil Spencer with Asha Sharma earlier this year. After taking over as head of Microsoft's video games division, Sharma has reduced the price of PC Games Pass, discontinued the "This is an Xbox" campaign and expressed a desire to regain control of Xbox.
This morning he announced that the Xbox identity would be restored under the name Microsoft Gaming and would return to the original Xbox Gaming name. In a memo distributed to employees yesterday, Sharma said that "Xbox needs to be our identity", while the Microsoft Gaming name was considered too far from the brand's roots. The Microsoft Gaming name was introduced in 2022, after Phil Spencer was appointed CEO of the division. In conjunction with the return of Xbox Gaming, the new Xbox logo above was also shown.
In the shared strategy plan, Sharma stated that Xbox Gaming would be expanded to China and other markets with an emphasis on the public. As a gamer in Malaysia, I have long wanted to officially own an Xbox console but Microsoft has so far refused to offer it, focusing only on Singapore. This Xbox strategy has caused Malaysia to remain loyal to PlayStation and Nintendo.
The move is part of a larger strategy to restore Xbox's reputation, which has been struggling with high product prices and low Xbox sales. There have been rumors that Xbox original games will no longer be offered on competing consoles and a new logo will be introduced.
