XBOX CEO Asha Sharma has laid out an ambitious goal for the future of Microsoft’s gaming business: making XBOX the number one gaming and entertainment company by 2030.
Speaking in a recent interview with Bloomberg Tech, Sharma repeatedly emphasized that growing XBOX into the industry’s leading entertainment brand is her primary mission.
According to her, success won’t be measured solely by profit margins but by Xbox’s overall position within gaming and entertainment.
“My mandate is not 30% accountability margin,” Sharma explained. “It’s not enterprise software margins. It’s to be the number one gaming and entertainment company, and that’s what we’re going to go do.”
She pointed to Microsoft’s aggressive investments over the last several years as evidence that the company remains fully committed to gaming.
Those investments include the acquisitions of Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, continued hardware development, and ongoing platform expansion.
“Look, we’re the number two publisher in the world and in order to be a great publisher you must have your games reach large audiences to play. At the same time, we’re increasingly becoming a platform. In order to be a platform, you must have exclusive content and services. We’re looking at that very closely. I think we have to be very thoughtful about each title and how we want to think about it, and learn from similar cases in the industry. That’s what we’re doing.”
When asked whether the massive Activision Blizzard acquisition has paid off, Sharma defended the purchase enthusiastically.
“I don’t know anybody in entertainment who wouldn’t want Call of Duty,” she said, highlighting the value of franchises such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, and World of Warcraft.
At the same time, Sharma acknowledged XBOX still faces challenges and said the company needs to “reset the business” over the coming months.
While the road ahead may not be easy, Microsoft’s leadership appears convinced that continued investment in games, services, and major franchises will eventually position Xbox as a dominant force across the entire entertainment industry.
