Xbox‘s new chief says she hears players who want Xbox games to remain exclusive to the platform. At the same time, the Forza Horizon 5 port on PS5 has generated $300 million in revenue on its own.
Xbox‘s new CEO, Asha Sharma, responded on X to a fan complaint about the brand’s multiplatform strategy. Sharma said she hears players who want franchises such as Gears, Forza, and Halo to remain exclusive to Xbox. Meanwhile, Forza Horizon 5 has already sold more than 5 million copies on PS5, underlining how profitable this strategy has become for Microsoft.
The gaming industry is still processing Phil Spencer’s abrupt exit from Xbox after decades at the company. Players are already speculating that the former Xbox leader was pushed into retirement by Microsoft rather than stepping down by choice. Whatever the truth may be, the business is moving forward, and gaming giant Microsoft‘s new CEO, Asha Sharma, is already visibly active. The new boss has been making broad statements, including that Xbox will not lean too heavily on AI, while also giving some fans hope that the company’s polarizing multiplatform direction could still be reconsidered.
Why It Matters
Sending first-party titles to rival platforms like PlayStation 5 has been part of Microsoft‘s long-term plan for years, so this could also be a calculated way for the new Xbox chief to build goodwill with players.
On X, a fan complained to Asha Sharma that major Xbox first-party games were heading to other platforms and argued that series like Halo, Forza, and Gears should remain platform exclusives. The new CEO replied with a short and simple “Hear you.”
That ambiguous answer is obviously not proof that the multiplatform strategy is about to change, but many Xbox fans in the replies still thanked Sharma for acknowledging the issue. Just last month, Xbox confirmed that first-party releases will arrive on PS5 more consistently going forward, including day-and-date launches like the upcoming Fable, and former company president Sarah Bond had already described the idea of exclusives as outdated in 2025 after the multiplatform push.
Forza Horizon 5 Has Brought Xbox $300 Million on PS5
Once you factor in Forza Horizon 5‘s dominant sales on PS5, with more than 5 million copies sold on that platform alone, it becomes difficult to imagine Microsoft reversing the Xbox multiplatform strategy anytime soon, even if Asha Sharma decides to take a fresh look at it.
Source: tech4gamers
