Microsoft and Xbox Making Wide-Ranging Strategic Changes
Xbox's new CEO Sarah Bond is implementing broad strategic changes across nearly every corner of the division, from rebranding back to the classic Xbox green logo to revamping Game Pass tiers and reconsidering exclusivity strategies.
The last few months have been nothing short of dramatic for Xbox, whether it's the changes in the division's leadership, the announcement of the next generation, or the Game Pass price reduction—a lot has been happening in Microsoft's hallways lately. But over the past weekend we received a few more details on the matter, and it seems the avalanche of reports and changes we've seen isn't planning to stop anytime soon, as Sarah Bond, the new CEO of Xbox, continues to work and implement wide-ranging strategic changes in nearly every corner.
The latest reports coming in now point to several additional changes being made, and while they may seem small on the surface, they carry deep significance for Xbox's future in the coming years. A perfect example of this is the return to the original branding of Xbox with the familiar glowing green color, as opposed to the Microsoft Gaming nomenclature that had been used quite a bit in recent years. Immediately after that, Game Pass continues to receive attention with the examination of a model where players will be able to build their own Game Pass tier by choosing which services will be included in it. Along with that, a new tier called Starter Edition was introduced and will be a cheaper entry-level tier that includes about 10 hours per month of Cloud Gaming, a catalog of 50 games, but on the other hand, holders of this tier will not be able to play online. It was also revealed that the Ultimate tier will receive access to Discord Nitro as part of a collaboration between the companies. On the console front, we're expected to see updates for the Series X and S aimed at improving their stability after several negative updates and refocusing attention back on them with additional features. And finally, Bond mentioned the issue of exclusives, saying that the matter will be re-examined with a strategic view as Xbox wants to make the right decision regarding exclusives. As of now, this doesn't mean much, but all of these point us toward the new-old direction Xbox is heading in, with a focus on what they think gamers really want and will bring them back to the golden age of the brand.