Xbox leadership changed its strategy this week by announcing that its upcoming games “Gears of War: E-Day” and “Clockwork Revolution” will be exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC.
The move marks a fundamental shift by Xbox’s new CEO, Asha Sharma, after years of breaking down gaming platform barriers with rivals PlayStation and Nintendo under longtime CEO Phil Spencer.
“We want to give Xbox players a reason to believe in Xbox, a reason to buy Xbox, and a reason to be an Xbox fan. We also want to reward the people who have supported us and been loyal to us,” Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty told Variety in an interview after Sunday’s Xbox Show. “So we plan to do it this year in 2026, and next year in 2027, and we will continue to consider it after that.”
“As I think Asha has said before, we want to make the right decision, not a quick one. So it’s going to be a case-by-case basis as we have an opportunity to continue to think and consider our overall strategy. Our massively multiplayer games, our massively live service games will continue to be The games we’ve already announced for our fans, and the games we’ve already announced for other platforms, we’re going to respect that. We don’t want to take anything away from our players, but that’s what we’re working on. Two.”
Read more of Variety’s interview with Xbox Chief Content Officer Booty below.
You mentioned that there will be one exclusive game this year with Gears of War: E-Day and one exclusive game next year with Clockwork Revolution. Is it specific that there will only be one exclusive next year, or is there room for change?
I think it’s about 12 months away in my life. So I’d like to tell you what we do about these two. However, we will continue to consider this in the future. Also, as always, we do not intend to reveal any platform decisions unless a date has been announced yet. So if we follow what we’ve been doing, when we do any dating, we’re going to talk about the exclusivity of the platform.
Before this year’s showcase, fans started discussing Xbox’s decision to feature a competitor’s logo during the presentation. What was your reaction to that conversation and what do you plan to do next?
The first is the need for clarity. Players want to know where they will be playing the game. What platform? And that includes ourselves. Is it the 8th generation? Is it the 9th generation? There’s the X Cloud, Series S and X, and Xbox PC. There are a lot of things, so the first principle is to be clear. It also shows that this is an Xbox show and Xbox fans want to feel like this is their show. And I think we’ll be able to find that right balance in the future.
“Blade” wasn’t in this year’s showcase. I was expecting “Blade”. When can we watch “Blade”?
This is a big show, we can’t fit everything in. This is a big show and we have other beats coming up this year.
So is there any chance we’ll hear anything later?
There’s always the possibility of hearing more about things that didn’t show up today.
I think there are also conversations going on about what we could announce during Xbox’s actual 25th anniversary in the fall. Are there any plans for the future because of the savings you made today?
Well, I have nothing to share or talk about. But this is a big year for us. When you think about not just Xbox’s 25th anniversary, but Blizzard’s 35th anniversary, Bethesda’s 40th anniversary. I think it’s great that we’ve been able to open shows with Gears, Fable, Halo, and now have such success with Forza. These are things we’ve been playing with Xbox for over a decade. It’s amazing to see such an iconic IP remain so closely associated with the brand for 25 years. I mean, there aren’t many consumer brands that can say they’re as relevant to pop culture and celebrating their 25th anniversary. So we think this is a good reflection of the brand, what Xbox means to our fans, and our IP portfolio.
Everyone saw this coming, but this week, announcements at PlayStation’s State of Play and Summer Game Fest and now Showcase have confirmed that September will be a very busy month for video game releases, with dates influenced by the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in November. What do you think about that, and what do you think about that spring of 2027, which tends to be crowded as another major option?
I take that as a reflection of good things for the industry and for the players. There’s a lot to play with and a lot of excitement. I think all these games show that this industry is undergoing active development. After all, it’s great for the players.
I think we have a lot of confidence in “Gears.” And we really want to get behind the team. Part of the madness of the machine is trying to figure out where everything makes the most sense. The more things become clear, the harder it will probably be to predict. But we also feel very good about delaying “Fable” to early next year. Gears is coming out this fall, so you have to be in it to win, right? So let’s get into it. A lot of things could happen, but I think we had a great match. And with Fable, we want to give everyone one room to play and discover.
How much of this year’s Xbox Games Showcase was decided before Asha Sharma replaced Phil Spencer, and how much after?
There are stages to it. So we started working in December (of the previous year) in terms of putting the trailer together, working with the team, and coordinating what was ready to be published in relation to when we would ship it, and Asha joined us in February. So at that point, we were kind of locked down in terms of which games would be in the running because there’s always more we wanted to show than what we decided to put into the show. But then she joined the process and has been since early March. And that’s when you start getting into, OK, which ones are in there? We’re always getting more, but what makes the most sense? And then we start thinking about order, which assets, which trailers make the most sense where, and then we write the script and record the parts. So she’s been doing that for the past four months.
What was that partnership like for you? And how cooperative are you at the moment versus letting her know how things have been going so far?
She’s a lot of fun to work with and brings a lot of energy, a lot of excitement, a lot of curiosity and a lot of willingness to rethink things that maybe we hadn’t noticed before. That’s great. He is a very supportive leader and is great. And I feel that I am also responsible. I think a lot of people who have been around Xbox for a while want to make sure that she understands the subtleties of the industry, the subtleties of game creation, and the subtleties of how these things come together. And there are many people around who can help you with that. At the same time, she doesn’t want to take history lessons too seriously because she’s so seriously focused on moving forward.
How much discussion do you have with the film and television department to consider the best timing for a particular release? Paramount has a Call of Duty movie in the works starring Taylor Sheridan. Is it possible that a new Call of Duty game will be released alongside that movie in the next few years?
If there’s one game that’s most likely to make the impossible possible, it’s Call of Duty. Because they are shipped every year. This means that at most he will be on leave for 11 months.
It’s tough. There’s always some variation in game production, and there’s always some variation in film production in terms of when it starts and when it kicks off. They tend to remain latent for quite some time. So our goal is more than just that linear and gaming are complementary. We’ve heard a lot about “Fallout,” and some people have enjoyed the show, some have never played the game, and some have no idea what it is, but they want to see if there’s a place for them to go if they love this world and want to keep going.
So it’s more about making sure there’s an active part for fans to enjoy than trying to land exactly where the two match up. It’s really, really tough.
I know that if Todd Howard was asked about The Elder Scrolls 6 again, he would die. But during the presentation, every time the Bethesda logo came up, it hooked the audience, and then people calmed down when they saw what it was each time. It wasn’t The Elder Scrolls 6. Given that there are so many fans looking forward to seeing what that announcement will be, how do you address that aspect? On the other hand, are you also dealing with the disappointment when people have an idea in their head of what it’s going to be like?
I think for someone in a job like mine, one of the hardest things to balance is wanting to go show the world all the cool stuff you’re working on, and wanting to get people excited early on. But we also know that we want to wait until the right moment. And if you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you have. And by showing the game, you’re also giving a promise that it’s coming soon. Having visited Bethesda and sat down with Todd to see The Elder Scrolls being shown, I can tell you it’s great and going well. And we’re definitely going to announce it at the right time and really reveal it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
