Xbox reportedly says new IP is vital after studio cuts

Xbox reportedly says new IP is vital after studio cuts, according to a PC Gamer report on remarks attributed to CEO Asha Sharma at an internal town hall. ¹

What happened

The report says Sharma argued that Xbox must continue creating enduring new IP rather than relying only on established franchises. The remarks were presented as a warning that the company cannot depend entirely on its past successes.

PC Gamer’s report places those comments against a difficult period for Xbox, citing thousands of layoffs, studio closures and cancelled projects. It also points to the tension between that cost-cutting programme and the stated ambition to create fresh properties. ¹

The wider Xbox strategy

The same report says Xbox is backing its strongest existing franchises while also pursuing new projects. It cites Physint, the action-espionage game being created by Hideo Kojima’s studio, as one example of a new property in the wider Xbox publishing picture. ¹

That does not make the company’s direction simple. Established series can offer a clearer commercial path, while new IP carries the risk of asking audiences to invest in something untested. The challenge is making room for both without allowing the first priority to squeeze out the second.

Our opinion

The contradiction is the story. Xbox can reasonably want dependable franchises and new ideas at the same time, but cancelled projects and studio cuts make the promise harder to believe. New IP is not created by slogans alone: it needs teams, time and enough room to survive an uncertain first pitch. If Xbox genuinely sees invention as essential, its future announcements will need to show that commitment in the projects it protects, not just in what its leadership says at a town hall.

The hero is official Xbox artwork for Gears of War: E-Day, used to represent the established first-party portfolio discussed alongside the push for new IP. ²