Xbox can lead again, but only if leadership responds to what players are clearly saying.
This is my public message to Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma.
Across social media, forums, and comment sections, the same signal keeps showing up: people feel that Xbox has blurred its identity and reduced the value of console ownership.
Here are my top four recommendations.
1. Protect the Xbox identity
When everything is available everywhere, players lose a clear reason to buy Xbox hardware. "Xbox Anywhere" may increase distribution, but it also weakens the emotional value of owning an Xbox.
People buy belonging, not just specs. If Xbox wants stronger platform loyalty, it needs a clear identity and true first-party exclusives that make the purchase decision obvious.
Players also want stronger guarantees around ownership and offline access. They want games that work when purchased, without dependence on day-one patches or constant connectivity.
2. Make online play free on Xbox consoles
Online multiplayer is free on PC but paid on console. That gap is increasingly hard to justify, and it pushes price-sensitive players toward PC.
Free online play would make the console value proposition much easier to defend.
Strategically, Xbox should pick a lane and communicate it clearly: fully platform-agnostic, or strongly console-first. The current middle position feels ambiguous and erodes trust.
3. Stand up for art
Shift from acquisitions to execution. The acquisition phase delivered scale. Now the priority should be output quality.
Focus on what you already own: fund studios properly, protect creative autonomy, and reduce executive interference.
Great games require risk. That means incurring a loss every now and then. Leadership that cannot absorb selective losses will struggle to produce category-defining hits.
Protect creators, and long-term trust returns.
4. Be careful with AI labelling
If Xbox uses AI internally, I recommend staying silent about it. There are genuine use cases for AI, but public opinion has soured on it.
Any mention of AI risks damaging the Xbox brand and Microsoft's bottom line. Consider rebranding new technologies that we currently consider "AI" if you insist on using them.
Xbox still has world-class talent, beloved IP, and decades of player trust to build on.
But trust does not come from scale alone. It comes from conviction.
Pick a lane. Protect creators. Give players a clear reason to choose Xbox again.