Xbox doesn't want to live on nostalgia: Asha Sharma promises new franchises after the cuts

Asha Sharma, Xbox's new CEO, used an internal staff meeting to deliver a message many players had been waiting to hear for a long time: Microsoft has no intention of simply milking its long-running franchises. As reported by Vandal, which in turn cites information published by Windows Central based on several sources who attended the meeting, Sharma insisted that the company will keep betting on new intellectual properties, even after a restructuring that has led to thousands of layoffs, closures and sweeping changes across its studios.

The nuance matters. Over the past few months, the general feeling around Xbox has been that of a division in survival mode, cutting everywhere and retreating to familiar names. Having the person at the very top warn out loud that relying solely on past hits puts the brand's future at risk is, at the very least, a statement of intent. Whether actions follow is another matter.

What you need to know

• Asha Sharma is Xbox's new CEO and spoke to employees at an internal meeting.
• Her remarks reached the press through Windows Central, which obtained them from several sources; Vandal reported them in Spanish.
• The strategy has two pillars: strengthening the biggest franchises while continuing to create new ones.
• Sharma wants Microsoft's major games to become global franchises capable of generating billions of dollars.
• The message comes after months of mass layoffs, closures and studio reorganisation within the division.

Between franchise muscle and the risk of the new

Sharma's stance isn't a radical shift, but an attempt at balance. On one hand, she makes it clear that Xbox will keep looking after its heavyweights and wants to turn them into massive global brands. On the other, she acknowledges that a games company that only recycles its hits eventually runs out of new talent and ideas. The line that sums up her approach, as reported by Vandal, is blunt:

“We won't survive if we only live off the past.”

Taken at face value, it's almost stating the obvious: every legendary franchise was once an unknown gamble. But in the current context it carries more weight. New IPs are expensive, slow to develop and risky, exactly the kind of project that tends to be cut first when a company slashes costs. That's why the message seems aimed as much at reassuring a workforce hit hard by layoffs as at setting out a strategic direction to the outside world.

Who it affects

Development teams, first and foremost: leadership publicly backing original projects could give some breathing room to studios afraid they're next on the list. Players, because a platform with a varied library of its own is more appealing than one that relies on sequels. And the competitive scene, because the games that fuel tournaments, leagues and communities for years aren't born as established franchises: they're born as gambles.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we agree with the diagnosis, but we're not going to simply take the talk at face value. Saying you want new franchises while closing studios and laying off thousands of people is somewhat contradictory. Creativity isn't manufactured in an internal meeting: it needs stable teams, time and room to make mistakes. If the cuts have swept away precisely the people who could have built those IPs, the promise sounds more like wishful thinking than a plan.

That said, from the perspective of competitive players and content creators, betting on new things is exactly what we need. Communities thrive on novelty: a fresh game opens up metas to discover, empty leaderboards to conquer and content formats nobody has tapped yet. The big established titles are fine, but they're saturated. For an up-and-coming creator, being first to a new franchise can make all the difference; for a competitive team, getting into an ecosystem from day one can be the chance to make a name for itself.

Our concern lies elsewhere: the obsession with turning every game into a billion-dollar franchise. That ambition often translates into live-service models designed to monetise rather than to deliver fair competition. We hope Xbox understands that a great franchise is earned through community, balance and long-term support, not just revenue targets.

What do you think?

Do you buy Asha Sharma's message, or do you see it as a way to soften the blow of the cuts? Would you rather Xbox focus on its classic franchises, or take risks on new worlds that could spark competitive scenes from scratch? Drop by the team chat or our Discord and tell us: what new franchise would you like to see born on Xbox, and why?