Xbox is now putting affordability at the center of its latest message. First, though, the factual correction: Phil Spencer still runs Microsoft Gaming, and Sarah Bond is Xbox President, not Asha Sharma. The new part is the setting around that pitch. Microsoft said gaming revenue reached a record $21.524 billion in fiscal 2024, up 39% year over year, but a lot of that jump came from Activision Blizzard. At the same time, Microsoft also said Xbox hardware revenue fell 13%, and console sales stayed soft.
Spencer has said Xbox prices probably won’t fall much below the sub-$300 Xbox Series S. Bond, for her part, has been talking about the next Xbox as a premium device.
Game Pass doesn’t look quite as unstoppable as it did a few years ago, either. Microsoft said it hit 34 million subscribers in February 2024, then reports pointed to a slide to around 30 million by mid-2026 after a price increase. That’s still far short of a reported internal 2026 goal of 77 million.
Microsoft is also sending more first-party Xbox games to PlayStation 5. Reported 2026 plans put the focus on Daily Active Players, China, mobile-first users, and a rethink of Xbox Game Pass. Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio is among the critics who say that model may not hold up. Other people look at the same move and see platform expansion as the practical way forward.
If you follow Xbox closely, this shift stands out.
Author: Ronnel Angelo Arsolon
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