Xbox-chef Asha Sharma will Xbox profitabler maken dan Sony en Nintendo

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has set an ambitious goal for the company: to make Xbox more lucrative than its biggest gaming rivals, Sony and Nintendo, by 2030. Speaking to CNBC, Sharma said Microsoft was working toward that target by mid-2030 and had a range of plans in place, including a focus on more exclusive titles and greater ground in the casual games market.

In an Xbox memo, Sharma outlined a long-term strategy for the company's largest franchises across film, television, consumer products, sponsorship and live experiences, along with new partnerships worldwide, including in China. She also said the company would invest heavily in Minecraft and that revenue growth was expected to accelerate in the 2028 and 2029 fiscal years. "By Financial Year 2030, our ambition is to be halfway to our long-term daily-player goal with sustained double-digit growth in players and engagement and industry-leading margins," she wrote.

The ambition arrives at a difficult moment for the division. Circana tracking data shows US Xbox Series hardware sales fell 27 percent year over year in September 2026, reaching a new all-time September low. Sharma recently posted online that revenue had declined in the most recent financial quarter, and she acknowledged that "console sales remain constrained by supply" without providing specifics. Xbox console prices also rose again in August, making the hardware more expensive than at its original November 2020 launch price.

Since Sharma took over, Xbox has also undergone a sweeping restructuring. More than 1,600 jobs have been eliminated and several studios have been cut from the Xbox portfolio. Against that backdrop, the profit goal faces a steep challenge: Xbox recorded a 10 percent quarterly revenue decline. By comparison, CNBC reported that Sony reached a 9.9 percent operating margin from game and network services alone in its latest financial year, while Nintendo was close to 16 percent in its fiscal year.

Xbox's strategy increasingly extends beyond games. Earlier this month the company unveiled a new XP division dedicated to movies, TV and live events. It follows a series of recent multimedia announcements, including a third season of the Fallout TV series, a Call of Duty movie, a Diablo animated series and a Minecraft theme park set to open in 2027. Sharma's memo indicates that these projects are central to the long-term plan, though whether they can offset the pressure on hardware and game revenue remains to be seen.

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Derek Weston

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Derek Weston covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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