As Xbox continues to struggle, CEO Asha Sharma has reportedly stated her desire to keep making "enduring new IP" rather than solely relying on the past, as the company "will not survive" if it does.
Xbox is still in the midst of ongoing restructuring, with it announced in early July that 3,200 people were set to be laid off by the end of the financial year, and multiple Xbox-owned studios have been impacted in other ways. Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Double Fine have gone independent, while two agreements for Ninja Theory have fallen through, and consultation is still underway at Arkane. Sharma admitted in July that the current Xbox is not "healthy," and even looking from the outside, it's not hard to see that.
Per transcripts shared with Windows Central, in a recent company town hall meeting, Sharma reportedly acknowledged the large amount of changes being made to Xbox's content. "We're backing our strongest franchises. I want our great games to become great global billion-dollar franchises," she is quoted as saying.
However, she apparently notes that the company can't just rely on old favorites. "I would also like to see us continue to create enduring new IP," she continues, adding that "we will not survive" if we only lean on the past. "We have to find new ways, and courage, to have invention on new IP, that reaches new sets of audiences," she adds.
While there's definitely truth to what she's saying, it's hard not to find the sentiment somewhat odd when it follows multiple game cancellations at Xbox. Last year, for example, a gorgeous new game from Rare, Everwild, was shelved along with Project Blackbird, a new MMO project that was in development at Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. More recently, Ninja Theory's Project Mara – an experimental horror project – was also scrapped.
One thing that's sure to be in the company's favor, however, is that it's now not only publishing Hideo Kojima's upcoming horror game OD, but his Metal Gear Solid spiritual successor Physint, too. Sony was set to cancel the latter, prompting Kojima to seek another publisher in the form of the PlayStation maker's biggest rival.
