Xbox boss rejects sale talk and points to long road ahead

"Xbox is not for sale."

Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma gave that direct answer in an interview with The New York Times published on 30 September 2026. She said Xbox has a long way to go with Microsoft and will take a long-term view. The profile was headlined "Xbox's Millennial C.E.O., Asha Sharma, Isn't Playing Around" The New York Times.

Sharma said she will look at the right partnerships and operating model to set the company up for success. An operating model here means how teams are organised, funded and run. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said Xbox will have to start pulling its weight under Sharma's leadership, according to details reported by GameSpot.

Sharma had previously told staff the Xbox business was not in a healthy state. Xbox works to accountability margins of 3% profit. That is an internal measure of the share of revenue kept as profit after costs are counted.

The interview followed a difficult summer for staff. On 6 July 2026, Xbox announced about 1,600 role eliminations, a formal term for job cuts. It also said four studios will leave Xbox for new management, according to the company statement reported by Xbox.

That reset had been flagged weeks earlier. On 10 June 2026, Bloomberg reported that Xbox planned significant layoffs as it transforms under new chief executive Asha Sharma. The report said her first major cuts were planned to arrive in July Bloomberg.

Sharma also pointed to where big franchises sit next. The Halo franchise is now an Activision project, with a new team being built to develop the next game starring Master Chief, the series' armoured lead. Halo has long been associated with Xbox consoles, so a shift in who makes it matters to players who follow that series.

Blizzard's pipeline runs even further out. Blizzard is aiming for a 2029 launch for Diablo 5, the next entry in its dark fantasy action series about dungeon crawling and loot. Its StarCraft game, tied to its long-running science-fiction strategy series, is set for 2030. Both dates are targets, announced years in advance, not releases locked for next season.

What makes this stand out is the timeline Sharma is asking people to judge her on. The fix for the business is framed in years. The games are dated in years too. For players, the message is continuity with patience: the brand stays, the boss stays, and the next big chapters are still being built.