The Future of Xbox Begins to Take Shape

It is no secret that the Xbox brand has struggled since the reveal of the Xbox One in 2013. Since Microsoft decided to show off everything the Xbox One could do without focusing on games, consumers have favored Sony's PlayStation brand. The PlayStation 4 and 5 have become two of the most popular consoles of all time. Xbox, on the other hand, has struggled to move units even with its less expensive Xbox Series S offering.

Enter new Head of Xbox Asha Sharma, an executive who doesn't come from the gaming industry and has already begun reshaping the console's future to her vision. She started by cutting developers from the Xbox team; this has led to plenty of backlash from those affected by the layoffs.

The Xbox brand has been synonymous with Xbox Game Pass for most of the last decade, and teams made titles to populate the service while releasing them on other consoles. Now, Sharma has refocused the teams under the Xbox banner into exclusives. The first major game to be announced as an exclusive was Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel to the original Gears of War, set to release on October 6th.

Xbox has also announced the ability to digitize your library. Now, if you have a physical copy of a game, you can put it into your Xbox Series X, and you will get a digital license for the game. This allows you to play the game on other consoles, handhelds like the Xbox Ally X, and through Xbox cloud gaming.

This stands in sharp contrast to what Sony is doing with their PlayStation brand. Sony has argued in court that players who purchase a digital copy of a game don't actually own it, and that the license can be rescinded. This has not gone over well with the gamers online, who see Sony as taking advantage of their position to the detriment of the consumers.

In an interview with the BBC , Sharma said that Project Helix, the next-generation Xbox, will be "a family of devices".

"We're not sharing more on Helix, I know you had to ask it. But look, we've been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we'll share more soon"

I think that makes the next step for Xbox pretty clear: at a time when consumer electronics are going up in price due to the A.I. boom, Xbox will likely offer different versions of its next console so gamers can choose the price point and SKU that's right for them.

For the first time in years, it actually feels like Xbox is making an effort to fight back against Sony by putting their customers first. It helps that Sony is squandering their goodwill by reminding gamers they don't actually own their games. Will Xbox be able to claw its way back to relevance? That remains to be seen, but I'm more confident than I have been in years about the future of Xbox.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Sep 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.