Xbox CEO: 'Xbox Is Not For Sale' Despite Studio Closures

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma denies the division is up for sale, amid layoffs, studio closures, and analyst speculation about Microsoft exiting gaming.

Ever scroll past a headline about Xbox layoffs or studio closures and wonder, "Is Microsoft about to ditch Xbox entirely?" You're not alone — and now the boss is speaking out.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has flatly denied that the gaming division is for sale. "Xbox is not for sale," she told The New York Times. "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." That's about as direct as it gets.

So why does everyone keep asking? Analysts have been predicting Microsoft could sell Xbox off completely. Compared to Microsoft's wildly profitable cloud computing and AI businesses, Xbox looks like small potatoes. The Xbox Game Pass gamble hasn't paid off the way Microsoft hoped, even after spending tens of billions acquiring publishers and studios. Xbox's accountability margins sit at just a 3% profit — a pretty tiny return for a company that size.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hasn't exactly been quiet about it either. He's said Xbox needs to start pulling its weight under Sharma's leadership, and Sharma herself previously told employees the business wasn't in a healthy state. Nadella has praised her cuts, saying they've led to a "streamlining" of the division. If Sharma is setting Xbox up to generate more profit, it's part of a years-long strategy.

That strategy is already reshaping Xbox's biggest franchises. Halo is now an Activision project, likely years away as the publisher builds a new team for the next Master Chief adventure. Over at Blizzard, two massive games are locked in for the end of the decade: Diablo 5 is aiming for 2029, while StarCraft is set for 2030. Meanwhile, several Xbox studios are working on the Fallout franchise, with multiple new games in various stages of development.

"We've got a long way to go with Microsoft," Sharma told the NYT. "And we're going to take the long-term view." Translation: don't expect a fire sale, but do expect more changes as Xbox fights for its place in Microsoft's portfolio.

Will you be sticking with Xbox through all this? What do you think about Sharma's comments — reassuring, or just corporate spin?