During the company’s 2024 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella shared that the company was “redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan” through devices compatible with the Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming. As expressed by the company’s recent “This is an Xbox” advertisements, the idea is that users would be able to enjoy Xbox on any device.

The Joy of Gaming, Anywhere Through Subscription

With the intention of enabling users to “take the joy of gaming anywhere,” Xbox has recently focused more on its subscription service, Game Pass, which was launched in 2017. This service has proven popular among Xbox users, with over 33 million subscribers paying for it as of late 2023.

Gaming Accessibility

Recent major AAA releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have garnered significant attention, and the games are each accessible for Game Pass Ultimate tier subscribers. These subscribers also gain access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, a beta feature that is quickly becoming an essential aspect of the brand. Cloud gaming lets Game Pass Ultimate subscribers play games anywhere without having to download them through the power of streaming.

Black Ops 6 and Building a Cloud Gaming User Base

This new streaming capability, alongside the positive response to releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, has enabled the company to push forward with its “This is an Xbox” catchphrase. With Xbox Cloud Gaming, there are more ways to access the company’s game library than ever before and more opportunities to build a loyal subscriber base in the Ultimate tier.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has broken records for Xbox, standing as the franchise’s most successful launch month of all time. This success has attracted an impressive number of players, serving as another driving force for the company’s marketing campaign.

The “This Is an Xbox” Campaign

The “This is an Xbox” campaign has demonstrated that computers, TVs, phones, and VR headsets no longer require a console but just a subscription to Game Pass at the Ultimate tier. Still, the decision represents a shift in priority from the company’s console hardware offerings. In turn, this apparent prioritization of Game Pass has drawn critique from some fans of the console.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer made a point of addressing these fans’ concerns, stating that the company would continue making consoles. At the same time, he shared that the console space wasn’t growing.

“We’ll definitely do more consoles in the future,” Spencer stated. “The console space all up isn’t growing across all of them. We love those customers, but in terms of continuing to expand and grow Xbox, it’s about PC, it’s about cloud, and it’s about making our games more available in more places.”

A New Vision for Xbox

Xbox is clearly pushing forward with its new vision for Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming, which most of its audience has received well. Recently, the company enabled members of the Xbox Insider program to stream a few non-Game Pass titles that they owned on their consoles, suggesting that this might become a feature in the future.

During the shareholder meeting, Nadella went on to express other areas where Microsoft is moving forward in the gaming space. 

“Our strategy with Activision content now is in full force,” Nadella stated, “We feel fantastic about the progress we’ve made. And more importantly, I think, long term, as a company, we can bring the best of AI innovation, cloud innovation, console innovation, and PC innovation to build the best games that can be enjoyed by gamers everywhere.”

An Ongoing Redefinition

Microsoft and Xbox are certainly working toward a major redefinition of their product, looking to innovate and reestablish their position in the gaming market. It won’t be easy, but these are promising steps toward future success.