{"id":67431,"date":"2026-07-09T21:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=67431"},"modified":"2026-07-09T21:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:41:17","slug":"doubts-microsoft-would-be-able-to-sell-off-xbox-in-its-entirety-even-if-it-wanted-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=67431","title":{"rendered":"Doubts Microsoft Would Be Able to Sell Off Xbox in Its Entirety Even if It Wanted To"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">One of the big questions emerging from Asha Sharma\u2019s appointment as Xbox CEO earlier this year, and the subsequent layoffs and restructuring that have occurred in recent days, revolves around the long-term future of Microsoft\u2019s gaming business. Will Microsoft sell off Xbox? Are the changes that started this week laying the groundwork for a sale?<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A recent report claimed Sharma wanted to speed up development on new The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games as part of the company reset. Details on the potential shakeup came from <u>The Information<\/u> (via <u>Reuters<\/u>), which said that Microsoft hadn&#8217;t ruled out turning the Xbox brand into a wholly-owned subsidiary. It&#8217;s said the move could result in Xbox being operated as a joint venture with other partners or even potentially sold.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sharma\u2019s Xbox reset has since become clearer. 1,600 staff were let go on Monday, with another 1,600 staff to go before the end of the current financial year (this has left Xbox staff who have survived this week\u2019s cull facing an anxious wait to find out if they, too, will be cut over the coming months). Four studios have left Xbox, with another set to be sold or shut down. Projects have been canceled. <u>Bloomberg&#8217;s Jason Schreier<\/u> has said that Avowed and The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment has laid off a quarter of its staff and Avowed 2 was canceled. Obsidian <u>has now been put to work on a new Fallout game<\/u>. Doom developer id Software was gutted. Staff at Bethesda Game Studios have expressed concern about The Elder Scrolls 6 following cuts there, too.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Every Video Game Franchise Xbox Owns After Acquiring Activision Blizzard<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" decoding=\"async\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Some believe this reset and the cuts that have come with it are part of a strategy to make Xbox easier to sell. But analysts told The Verge that Xbox would likely have few suitors interested in buying the business outright. Consider that Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $69 billion. Given Xbox\u2019s huge payroll, studio setup, and hardware business, it would likely cost a company hundreds of billions of dollars to acquire.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">More likely, analysts suggest, is that big companies may pick off parts of Xbox as Microsoft continues to look to trim the business. As The Verge notes, Microsoft has already done this with Hellblade developer Ninja Theory and State of Decay developer Undead Labs, both of which were sold to unnamed buyers. Psychonauts developer Double Fine and South of Midnight developer Compulsion, meanwhile, have gone it alone, taking their back catalogue and franchises with them. Microsoft also intends to sell Arkane Lyon, developer of Marvel\u2019s Blade, although how this will work remains unclear.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Yoshio Osaki, president and CEO of market research firm IDG Intelligence, told The Verge that it&#8217;s possible that \u201cindividual studios, IPs, and teams are sold or spun off piecemeal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Then there\u2019s the question of, who would buy Xbox when Xbox itself admits its business is not healthy? Xbox ended the financial year with a 3% accountability margin (assumed to be profit margin), down year-over-year. Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years Microsoft spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in what Sharma called its content, platform, and hardware \u201csubsidy,\u201d but annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cWe are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses,\u201d Sharma said in a <u>blog post<\/u> announcing the layoffs. \u201cWe entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset Xbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Meanwhile, Microsoft has increased the price of Xbox consoles. Microsoft blamed this on console storage and memory prices, which have increased by more than 2.5x, and it expects another doubling by the fall of 2027. &#8220;The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles,&#8221; Microsoft said when it announced the price rises. &#8220;&#8230; the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history,&#8221; Sharma added in the Xbox &#8220;Reset&#8221; memo.<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"tierlist-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" id=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\" data-cy=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_header__xyy5a\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3647836811 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_title__UxzQx\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon icon-tier-list jsx-2750866048 jsx-1879929830\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-tier-list\" alt=\"Tier List\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/TierList.c19f1c86.svg?cors=0\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-2321054750 TierListHeader_full__J6p2u\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-957202555 TierListHeader_compact__7JWp1 balanced\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">For now, Sharma\u2019s reset plan continues. There are big questions about the future of Game Pass and how it might evolve over time. Microsoft is reportedly set to release more of its big games as Xbox console exclusives. But even if Microsoft can entice gamers into buying one of its console, will it be able to make enough to satisfy demand, and will people be able to afford one? Some suspect Project Helix, the next-generation Xbox, will launch priced north of $1,000 \u2014 without a disc drive. Is Microsoft bracing itself for console sales to fall off a cliff?<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/doubts-microsoft-would-be-able-to-sell-off-xbox-in-its-entirety-even-if-it-wanted-to-but-big-companies-may-try-to-buy-parts-of-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the big questions emerging from Asha Sharma\u2019s appointment as Xbox CEO earlier this year, and the subsequent layoffs and restructuring that have occurred&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[9953,26244,3576,859,465,162],"class_list":["post-67431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-doubts","tag-entirety","tag-microsoft","tag-sell","tag-wanted","tag-xbox","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/67432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}