Asha Sharma Says Xbox Is On The Right Path After Layoffs

According to information from Windows Central, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma met with employees on Tuesday to try and calm tensions after months of mass layoffs and studio closures. In her speech, she stated that the company is "making the right decisions" and returning to growth after hitting the highest low ever, but did not present specific figures.

Sharma cited Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft Dungeons 2 and World of Warcraft: Forever. The company also mentioned launches of "strong" performance, without providing detailed data, and stated that the current situation is a "2 to 3" times growth in comparison to the last fiscal year. 

Regarding the future, Sharma confirmed that the next generation, dubbed Project Helix, will be a "family of devices" rather than a single console. The rationale is that "there is no one-size-fits-all device." The idea is to have a strong main console, but also portable options, some manufactured by Microsoft itself and others by partners. "The operating system is starting to get really good," she said.

The situation, however, is complicated. In July, the executive announced 1,600 layoffs and the sale of at least four studios; in September, Xbox confirmed another 268 cuts and further consolidations. According to The Information, Sharma also intends to accelerate the production of games from franchises such as Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls, while reducing investments in teams considered less of a priority.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has shown support for Sharma's strategy and praised the "optimization" she has been implementing on Xbox. But there are those who are not satisfied with the measures adopted by Sharma. Recently, Chris Hays, lead iD Software programmer, spoke openly about the fallout from the Xbox cuts and said it has become “impossible to develop AAA games on the same scale as the team’s previous work.”