Tag: Industry
News Xbox's New Chief Strategy Officer Is Planning To 'Revive Storied Franchises'
In addition to strengthening the console side
Earlier this week, we covered the news that Xbox had hired a new executive to "strengthen the console side of the business" in the form of Matthew Ball, who has joined as Chief Strategy Officer. And now, a new interview with Bloomberg has shed more light on Ball's role at Team Xbox, which includes plans...
News 'We Don't Want It At All' - Playasia Hates The Idea Of An Xbox Disc-To-Digital Program
Is it in the works? Who knows...
If we go back to last week, you may recall that we highlighted a "pinch of salt" rumour that Xbox might be working on some kind of disc-to-digital program to compensate for the next-gen Project Helix console being a "fully digital" system. It was insisted at the time that the details were "incredibly scant right...
News Xbox Hires New Exec To 'Strengthen The Console Side' Of The Business
A new technology officer has also been appointed
Coming by way of both The Game Business and The Verge (paywalled) this evening, Microsoft has hired a pair of new Xbox executives - including a Chief Strategy Officer to "strengthen the console side of Xbox"; as The Game Business puts it. That new CSO is called Matthew Ball; an industry analyst who...
News SEGA Lists 10 Upcoming Titles On New Roadmap, But Cancels 'Super Game' In The Process
Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio all remain on the list
SEGA has shared its FY2026/3 "Full-year Results Presentation" today, and it includes lots of interesting information about the company's plans, including a new roadmap of upcoming titles (most of which should land on Xbox!). The roadmap is specifically focused on "only announced titles",...
News More Than 50% Of Hardcore Gamers Don't Buy Full-Priced Games Anymore, Survey Finds
Saying no to $70
A new survey has revealed that more than half of hardcore gamers from multiple age groups no longer pay full price for video games, with just 20% of one age range saying that they'd pay full whack for a new release. The survey has been been carried out by IGN, in association with Kantar and UC Berkeley, and subsequently shared by...
News Nacon's RPG Studio Seemingly Shutting Down Following Financial Troubles
Update: Developer issues a statement
Back in February, we brought you the unfortunate news that publisher Nacon had filed for insolvency following financial troubles, and it now sounds like one of its main studios is closing down after struggling to find a buyer. French outlet Origami is reporting that Nacon developer Spiders — which makes the...
News 'This Change Is Not Surprising At All' - Industry Analyses Xbox Game Pass Price Drop
Cost down, COD out
This week, we've seen some pretty big news regarding Xbox Game Pass and the future of the service. Microsoft has decided to drop Game Pass Ultimate back down to a more manageable cost, whilst announcing that Call of Duty will no longer arrive day one in the service. In the days since, the industry has reacted, with
News Xbox Reporter Suggests Microsoft Is Being More Lenient With Its Gaming Profit Goals
"This has given Xbox extra breathing room..."
Back in October, we heard that Microsoft had been pushing its Xbox teams to aim for increased profit margins in recent years - and although the Xbox owner responded by saying that the quoted 30% margin was incorrect, it was still believed that increased pressures had been put on Microsoft's studios as of...
News '$1000 Consoles Will Be The Norm' - Analysts Discuss Cost Of PS6 & Next-Gen Xbox
Recent price hikes spell out an expensive future
With the recent price hikes happening in PlayStation land, we're pushing towards a world where four-figure console costs are almost the norm; PS5 Pro will become $900 from next week. While the upgraded PS5 model is an enthusiast bit of kit, it sounds as though we may have to get used to these sorts of...
News Fable, Grounded 2 Co-Developer Loses Studio Head Following Mass Layoffs
The team has supported multiple Xbox studios
In another bit of disappointing industry news this week, Eidos-Montréal has announced that 124 employees have been let go — alongside the departure of the team's studio head, David Anfossi — as "a result of changing project needs and impacts across production and support teams". The studio took to
News Epic Games Lays Off 1,000 Staff, Announces Closure Of Fortnite Rocket Racing
A massive shakeup for the Fortnite owner
Epic Games has announced the shocking news that over 1,000 employees are being laid off from today, attributing "the downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025" as the driving force being this massive company-wide shakeup. CEO Tim Sweeney took to the Epic Games blog to make a statement on the move,...
News Two Xbox Executives Announce Their Departures From Microsoft
Both had worked at the company for around a decade
We've got a couple more departures to share from Team Xbox, as it's been announced this week that Lori Wright and Haiyan Zhang will be leaving Microsoft soon, with both having spent around a decade each at the company. Lori Wright was the Corporate Vice President of Partnerships, Business...
News Former Xbox Leader Don Mattrick Lands Major New Role As CEO Of Photonic
His first CEO role since leaving Zynga in 2015
When it comes to former Xbox leaders, we've often heard about what the likes of Seamus Blackley and Peter Moore are getting up to, but Don Mattrick, who led the brand during part of the Xbox 360 era and the start of the Xbox One era, tends to remain in the background these days. That's probably because...
News Xbox Announces Policy Changes To Treat Games More 'Fairly' On The Microsoft Store
"You won’t see the same bundle five times across New Releases"
Over the past few years, we've seen occasional grumbles amongst the Xbox community when it comes to certain games - especially with new bundles of older titles, which can sometimes hog the "New Releases" section on Xbox. This was actually addressed last year when developers were...
News 'We Will See More Games Come To Xbox Quicker' - Microsoft Exec Talks Plans For The Future
One of the ID@Xbox leads discusses the benefits for developers
There's obviously been a lot of focus on the future of Xbox at this week's GDC 2026 presentations, and Microsoft executive / ID@Xbox director Guy Richards has been speaking about this in a recent interview with The Game Business. Richards was asked during the interview about why...
News 'Is Xbox Ending?' - The Official Answer Is No, But A Recent Interview Clearly Caused Panic
There's been a spike in searches for questions like these
Last week, amidst all the chaos surrounding the leadership changes at Xbox, we shared an excerpt from an interview with original Xbox creator Seamus Blackley in which he gave some advice to the new Xbox boss, Asha Sharma. However, the big quote from that interview that got the most...
News Amazon 'Abandons' Maverick Games As Former Forza Devs Seek New Publisher
A sharp u-turn
Back in 2023, we heard that a bunch of Forza Horizon devs were splitting off and making their own studio in Maverick Games, before Amazon announced the following year that it would publish the title at some stage. Well, the game seems to still be in production - but Amazon's gaming department will no longer fund the title. As shared...
News RoboCop, Test Drive Publisher Nacon In Financial Trouble As Company Files For Insolvency
Money woes are "significantly affecting operations"
French game publisher and accessory maker Nacon has today announced that at the tail end of last week, the company filed for insolvency after hitting serious financial trouble. Looking at the team's press release on matters, it's been revealed that majority shareholder Bigben Interactive has...
News Xbox's 'Pivot Away From Console' Had Been Failing And Questioned At Microsoft, Claims Report
What does that mean for the future?
A huge report has come out today about the supposed behind-the-scenes details of Phil Spencer's Xbox retirement, Sarah Bond's sudden departure and the arrival of new Xbox boss Asha Sharma, and the bit that everyone's focusing on is centred around the "Xbox everywhere" strategy
News Former Xbox Employee Returns After 13 Years As New Chief Of Staff
"I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position"
In the midst of all the leadership changes taking place at Xbox last week, it was quietly revealed on LinkedIn by former Xbox employee Craig Cincotta that he's now the new "Chief of Staff, OCEO Xbox". OCEO stands for "Office of the CEO", and Cincotta has a few connections to the new...
News Xbox's Sarah Bond Issues Statement On Her Departure From Microsoft
"This is the right time for me to take my next step"
Everyone was pretty shocked last week when it was revealed that not only would Phil Spencer be retiring as Microsoft Gaming CEO, but Xbox President Sarah Bond would also be departing at the same time. Bond has since taken to LinkedIn to issue a statement on her departure from the company, which...
News Xbox President Sarah Bond Is Also Leaving The Company, Microsoft Confirms
"Sarah Bond has decided to leave Microsoft..."
Much of the spotlight has been on Phil Spencer and new Xbox boss Asha Sharma in relation to today's huge shakeup over at Microsoft Gaming - but thanks to a departing statement from Phil himself, we now know for sure that Xbox Preside
News New Xbox Boss Makes Official Statement As She Takes Over From Phil Spencer
"I feel two things at once: humility and urgency."
In a seismic bit of news today, Phil Spencer announced that he's retiring as Xbox boss - which means that naturally, someone else has to assume that position over at Xbox HQ. The person taking over is Microsoft's Asha Sharma, who has just shared her first statement as she begins her role as CEO of...
News Phil Spencer Announces That He's Retiring From Xbox
A massive shakeup for Microsoft Gaming
Posting out to his personal LinkedIn account today, Phil Spencer has announced that he's retiring from Xbox, with the current President of Microsoft's CoreAI product Asha Sharma taking over from the long-time chief of Microsoft's gaming division. Phil
News The UK Games Industry Had Its Biggest Year Since 2020 Last Year
UK games revenue rose 7.4%
GamesIndustry.Biz has shared some news from the folks over at the Entertainment Retailers Association that suggests 2025 was a pretty big year for gaming in the UK. The ERA gathered data from multiple sources to show that UK customers spent £5.4 billion on gaming in 2025, which is up 7.4% on the year before. "This is the...
News Xbox Console Sales 'The Worst On Record' In 2025 As Microsoft Shifts Focus (UK)
"Sales of Xbox consoles were down 39%"
Over the last year or so, it's not been particularly positive news when it comes to Xbox console sales, with Microsoft continuing to focus its efforts on PC and ROG Xbox Ally in recent months. That trend has been felt here in the UK, where Xbox Series X|S sales are down almost 40% in 2025; leading to "the worst...
News The First Gaming Showcase Of 2026 Has Been Revealed, And It's As Soon As Next Week
Say hello to the New Game+ Showcase
We're assuming January 2026 will turn out to be quite busy for gaming showcases, with the Xbox Developer Direct showcase set to be the main event over the coming weeks, but we've also got a new show happening next week. This is known as the "New Game Plus" showcase, which is said to be bringing 45 games our way...
Report Xbox & PlayStation Could Delay Next-Gen Consoles Due To RAM Price Increases
"The industry as a whole is concerned about RAM availability"
Back in November, we shared a report from Moore's Law Is Dead on YouTube that suggested Xbox Series X|S prices could increase again soon due to RAM shortages, and there's concern that it might delay the next Xbox console as well. Well-known ins
News Xbox & Microsoft Dominate The List Of 'Most Covered' Gaming Companies In 2025
But Nintendo still wins the individual category
The good folks at GamesIndustry.biz recently published their annual "Year in Numbers" roundup of the games industry for 2025, and the most interesting bit from an Xbox perspective relates to the "most covered companies" section. Over the past two years, Xbox has led this category with 308,834 articles...
News Legendary Game Designer Vince Zampella Has Suddenly Died, Aged 55
The Call of Duty, Titanfall creator has died in a car accident
We have some very sad news to report on this evening, as it's emerged that legendary game designer Vince Zampella — the figurehead behind some of the most influential first-person shooters of the last two decades — has suddenly died in a car accident aged 55. As reported on by NBC,...
News Microsoft Says It's 'Incorrect' That Xbox Division Is Now Targeting 30% Profit Margins
But the goals are still ambitious
Over the past couple of months, you may have come across this idea that Microsoft has placed a target of 30% profit margins on the Xbox division — and this stems from a report that first mentioned it back in October. At the time, Bloomberg noted how these profit margins were "well above the industry average" of...
News Katamari Creator Returns To Japan And Considers His Future Following Poor Sales For 'To A T'
"If I feel that I don't belong in the games industry, I'll have to look elsewhere."
Keita Takahashi is a legend of the gaming industry, having created the Katamari franchise that began with Katamari Damacy on the PS2 back in 2004, and it's a series that still continues to achieve success to this day. His latest title that was released earlier this...
Report Xbox CFO Moves To Zenimax As Part Of New Leadership Changes
Leaving his current position after 10 years
It's being reported today that Xbox is undergoing some leadership changes — with Microsoft Gaming Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Tim Stuart moving over to Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, as a Chief Operating Officer. In Stuart's place will be Xavier Pokorzynsk, who's currently the corporate...
News Matt Booty Explains Why Xbox Ditched Its $80 Price Tag For Outer Worlds 2 & Other Games
"I’ll come back to the phrase meeting people where they are"
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it was ditching a planned price increase for The Outer Worlds 2 and other "full priced holiday releases", presumably in response to poor sales and negative feedback. Now, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty has been discussing this in an...
News Geoff Keighley Talks The Game Awards & His 'Balancing Act' Of Pleasing Everyone
"Every year is different"
The Game Awards is upon us, with the 2025 edition of the event going ahead on Thursday, December 11th. TGA is always a big celebration of the industry, both in terms of what's come out over the past year and what's to come in future - and this week, host Geoff Keighley has been talking about that very balancing act in a...
News Paramount Fights Back Against Netflix With 'Superior All-Cash Offer' For Warner Bros.
It's not over yet!
Last week, it was announced by Netflix that the company was buying Warner Bros. in a deal worth over $82 billion, but now Paramount has launched an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery's outstanding shares for $30 per-share (in cash). In a statement released today, Paramount chairman David Ellison...
"Seeking a permit to expand production in Vietnam"
As the Xbox Series X|S generation continues and another one is on the horizon, it's being reported this week that a subsidiary of manufacturing company Foxconn is planning to expand its Xbox production over in Vietnam. This report comes from Reuters, which mentions that Fushan Technology, which is...
News Embracer Group Sells Off Two Studios As Its Acquisition Spree Dies Down
Embraced no more
A few years ago, around the same time that Xbox's Activision deal was going through, Embracer Group went on a bit of a spending spree of its own, scooping up loads of studios from Square Enix and more. Major downsizing has happened since though, as Embracer struggled to handle so many different teams - and now two more studios have...
News Xbox Asks 1,500 Players To Sum Up Whether Gaming Is 'Time Well Spent' In New Survey
Here's what they said
Over the years, every one of us has probably been told that we're wasting our time playing games, but there are obviously numerous benefits that come with a hobby like ours, and Xbox has been trying to get to the bottom of it. Microsoft recently partnered with Edelman Data & Intelligence to conduct a survey in which 1,500...
News Ubisoft UK Warns That Folks Just Aren't Buying As Many £50-£60 Games Anymore
"Many new games are struggling to stand out"
As part of a new business update for its UK arm, Ubisoft has talked a little bit about falling game sales - and how players just aren't buying as many full-priced video games anymore. Coming by way of CityAM, Ubisoft UK shared that its revenue had increased 11% since its last update, but that 'the sale...
News Xbox President Talks Positive & Resistant Feedback From Fans, How It's Shaping The Future
"Our players deeply care about what Xbox is"
Earlier today, a new interview with Xbox president Sarah Bond was shared on YouTube by the folks at Fortune Magazine, and Bond had a particularly interesting response to a question about "redefining" the identity over at Xbox. After spending a fair bit of the interview discussing the idea of "playing...
News Square Enix Is Cutting Down Its Western Workforce, Focusing On Japanese Development
More layoffs afoot
New financials from publisher Square Enix, alongside reported information from outlet IGN, show that the Final Fantasy maker is shrinking down its Western workforce to further focus on Japanese development. Those financial reports include a note that says "review and optimization of overseas studio development or
Report Xbox Has Been Asking Its Studios To Hit 'Higher Profit Margins' Since 2023
Right as the Activision Blizzard deal closed...
Bloomberg's ever-reliable gaming journalist Jason Schreier (along with colleague Dina Bass) has today put out an extensive report on Xbox, and how Microsoft is now asking the division to deliver "higher profit margins" in the wake of its massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The report says that...
News Ninja Gaiden & Dead Or Alive Director Tomonobu Itagaki Has Passed Away
"So, it goes."
Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive have both played major roles in the history of Xbox over the past 24 years, and we're saddened to hear that a key figure on both those franchises has passed away. It's been announced that Tomonobu Itagaki, who created the Dead or Alive series and revived the Ninja Gaiden series back in 2004, died...
News Ubisoft Forms 'Vantage Studios' To Work On Some Of Its Biggest Franchises
Including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry & more
After several months of planning and seeking other forms of investment, Ubisoft's move to create a spin-off games company to work on some of its biggest franchises is now up and running. Coming straight from the company itself, Ubisoft and Tencent have now created 'Vantage Studios' to develop and distribute...
News EA To Be Acquired By Consortium Of Investors For $55 Billion USD
"I am more energized than ever about the future we are building"
We've got some major acquisition news coming out of Electronic Arts today, with EA announcing that it's set to be acquired by a consortium of investors for approximately $55 billion USD. Those investors are PIF (the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia), Silver Lake (a...
News Major Retailer Seemingly Clearing Out Xbox Series Stock In Certain Regions Right Now
US, UK and AU/NZ examples spotted
We're seeing several reports online right now about a major retailer clearing out Xbox Series X|S stock in multiple regions - including a full report on how the retail giant may be getting rid of its Xbox section altogether. We thought we'd take a look at all of this and see what's what, especially amidst plans from...
News Microsoft Has Made Its 'Largest Investment' In Xbox Game Pass Ever This Year
"This year marks our largest investment in Game Pass to date"
In a new interview with outlet Eurogamer, ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla says that Microsoft has made its "largest investment in Game Pass to date" in 2025 so far. Further elaborating on the point that this has been a big year for Game Pass, Charla added that Xbox has "signed deals with m
News Microsoft Announces New Price Increases For Xbox Series X|S In The US
"We are navigating an incredibly dynamic environment"
To finish off the week, Microsoft has announced that it's increasing the prices of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in the United States, and these increases will apply to all versions of the two systems currently on the market. The standard Xbox Series X with a disc drive will now jump to...
News Despite Cancelling Everwild, Xbox Has Just Hired Its Executive Producer For A Major Role
They're now Chief of Staff at Xbox Game Studios
We're still gutted by the cancellation of Rare's mysterious IP Everwild earlier this year, and here's hoping more details come out about it - we'd love to see some in-development footage and get more behind-the-scenes info. In the meantime, it's been revealed that Everwild's executive producer, Louise...
