Xbox's top executive is pushing back against a wave of speculation that has been swirling around the gaming division's future since a report surfaced suggesting Microsoft has not ruled out radical restructuring options.
Asha Sharma, who became CEO of Xbox in February 2026, is making clear that a sale is not on the table, even as the platform navigates one of the most turbulent stretches in its more than two decades of existence.
Asha Sharma Dispels Xbox Sale Rumors
In an interview with The New York Times, Sharma directly addressed the speculation that arose after The Information reported that Microsoft executives had not ruled out restructuring Xbox as a wholly owned subsidiary or even a joint venture with a third party. Sharma said the reports misrepresented what the company was actually considering.
She framed her position clearly, describing Xbox as a core Microsoft business rather than one that the company is looking to offload or fundamentally separate from its existing structure.
Sharma added that the mission she was handed when she took the role was not to wind anything down but to rebuild the platform into the world's leading gaming and entertainment company by 2030. She acknowledged that the business is not in its best shape right now, but framed her tenure as a recovery and rebuilding effort rather than a prelude to any kind of exit.
The New York Times profile captured Sharma working to reestablish clarity around Xbox's identity and purpose after years of messaging that many players and analysts found confusing.
Xbox to Remain at Microsoft, Under Sharma
Sharma has been consistent since taking office about what her priorities are: building great games, bringing back a clearly defined console identity, and making the platform more accessible in terms of pricing. One of her more visible early moves was lowering the price of Xbox Game Pass from $30 to $22.99 per month on console and from $16.49 to $13.99 on PC, signaling a deliberate shift away from subscription price hikes that had drawn criticism under the previous leadership.
She also retired the widely criticized "This Is An Xbox" marketing campaign, which had contributed to confusion about whether Microsoft was still committed to physical console hardware.
Sharma told Variety in an earlier interview that she is coming into gaming as a platform builder, a framing that aligns with her background at Instacart and Microsoft's CoreAI division rather than the traditional gaming industry path. She has been transparent about that, describing her goal as understanding what makes Xbox work and protecting it, then scaling it from there.
Microsoft to Consider Partnerships
While Sharma is firmly against the idea of a sale, the report from The Information that sparked the latest round of speculation was not entirely without basis. According to that report, Microsoft executives have genuinely discussed the possibility of restructuring Xbox into something resembling its other subsidiary businesses like LinkedIn and GitHub, or finding a partner to help run aspects of the business as a joint venture.
One name that came up in industry chatter was Netflix, with some outlets noting that a partnership involving lower-priced game streaming tiers had been floated as one possible model.
Former PlayStation CEO Shuhei Yoshida added fuel to the fire by publicly speculating that Xbox could eventually dissolve into Windows, a comment that circulated widely and contributed to fears among fans about the division's long-term survival. Sharma has not specifically addressed the Netflix partnership rumor, but her broader posture in interviews has been to shut down any narrative that positions Xbox as something to be dissolved, merged, or handed off to an external party.
Microsoft's Xbox Is Now Facing Challenges
Sharma took over a division facing genuine difficulty. In an internal memo sent to staff in June, she disclosed that annual revenue had fallen by approximately half a billion dollars over the previous five years, despite more than $20 billion invested across the Xbox brand, excluding the Activision Blizzard King acquisition.
Hardware costs had quadrupled compared to the prior year, and her own words described the studio system as overextended, leading to a round of layoffs she described in July as the most significant restructure in Xbox history, involving around 3,200 job cuts.
Hardware sales have been a persistent weak point, with Xbox Series X and Series S units consistently trailing PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch in both unit volume and software revenue. The "This Is An Xbox" campaign had tried to reposition the brand as a gaming ecosystem that exists across all devices rather than as a specific console, but that approach left core fans feeling that Microsoft had quietly decided to stop prioritizing the hardware side of the business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Owns Xbox Now?
Xbox is a division of Microsoft and remains fully owned by the company. The division was rebranded from Microsoft Gaming to simply Xbox in April 2026. Asha Sharma holds the title of Executive Vice President and CEO of Xbox, reporting into Microsoft's broader corporate leadership structure.
Prior to Sharma's appointment in February 2026, Phil Spencer had led the division for years before retiring after nearly four decades at Microsoft. The Activision Blizzard King acquisition completed in 2023 also falls under the Xbox umbrella, with franchises like "Call of Duty," "Overwatch," "Diablo," and "Candy Crush" now part of the Xbox business.
What Happens When Xbox Is Sold
Xbox has not been sold and Asha Sharma has directly rejected the premise that a sale is being planned. The scenario that prompted the question came from a report indicating Microsoft had not ruled out restructuring Xbox into a subsidiary model or joint venture arrangement, neither of which constitutes a sale of the division to an outside buyer.
If a sale were ever to happen, it would require Microsoft corporate approval and would likely involve regulatory scrutiny given the scale of the business following the Activision Blizzard King acquisition. No such process is underway based on available reporting, and Sharma's public statements consistently describe Xbox as a business Microsoft is investing in rather than distancing itself from.
Why Is Xbox Struggling Now?
Several factors have contributed to Xbox's current difficulties. Console sales have lagged behind PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, and a multi-year strategy of releasing first-party games on both Xbox and PlayStation simultaneously eroded the incentive for players to specifically choose Xbox hardware. Subscription price increases for Game Pass created friction with existing subscribers, and a string of studio closures and layoffs following the Activision Blizzard King acquisition damaged the company's reputation among game developers and fans.
Sharma has pointed to a $500 million revenue decline over five years as evidence of how serious the situation had become by the time she took over, and she has described her mandate as fixing those structural problems rather than maintaining the status quo that produced them.
