Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has denied the gaming division could be sold by Microsoft, following her streamlining of the business this year.
Earlier this summer, a report by The Information claimed that Microsoft was considering spinning out or restructuring its gaming division as a wholly owned subsidiary. This would, in theory, make Xbox easier to sell off in the future.
However, in the new interview with the New York Times, Sharma has denied that any such plans exist.
“Xbox is not for sale,” Sharma told the publication. “We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success, and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model and everything needed to achieve that.”
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, recently shared his approval of Sharma’s recent “streamlining” of the Xbox business, calling it “great to see”.
Commenting on the state of the Xbox business in a Sources Podcast episode, Nadella reiterated new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s objective to return the gaming business to growth by focusing on its biggest games and exploring new business models.
“If I look at the studios, the IP portfolio we have, and our ability to then take that and produce great games going forward, I feel fantastic,” Nadella said.
“There’s some amount of streamlining the team is doing, and Asha is doing, which is great to see. And then we have to invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to deliver gaming to more and more people.”
This summer, Microsoft enacted sweeping layoffs across the Xbox business, initially affecting 1,600 jobs, with another 1,600 planned by the end of Microsoft’s business year. The second wave of these cuts, which Microsoft claims are around 75% complete, took place this week.
