Despite speculation that Xbox is on its way out, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company will always be investing in games.
Xbox is in a weird space right now. Between effectively resigning itself to being a third-party publisher by releasing games on PS5 and Switch 2, to its next console Project Helix seemingly being a Steam Machine-like PC box, and the massive management shakeup in recent weeks, many are unsure as to what the future of Xbox actually holds. This has led to the likes of original Xbox co-founder and console designer Seamus Blackley saying that he thinks the brand will be sunset under the leadership of new CEO Asha Sharma.
But Nadella recently spoke to Microsoft employees in a Q&A session (reported on by Windows Central), saying, "For me, we're long on gaming. We'll continue to invest, and we'll always do so." He adds that, "It's up to this team to show an excellence in execution, and creativity." Nadella continues, "Software always carries risk, but this is software with lots of creation risk. It's way different. But yet, we have to be the best-in-class at it."
The Microsoft CEO also added that he and former Xbox boss Phil Spencer once spoke about "what is gaming in its most expansive form going forward?" Nadella adds, "This doesn't mean we walk away from people are doing today – when we think about a AAA game on a console. The question is about where else can we go to extend that."
Notably, Nadella doesn't seem to be explicitly talking about Xbox consoles in his comments, rather, gaming on a wider scale. He did praise the console division, saying that Xbox "at its best lifts the entire company," and that he "wants to bring back that active engagement" people get on "console and PC," as opposed to doomscrolling on phones.
I'm personally not entirely convinced any of this this means Xbox is in the clear, but at the very least Microsoft isn't giving up on games after spending however many billions on other studios.
