The shift in strategy at Xbox, especially with its big “reset”, has been interesting to view over the past several months. Since Asha Sharma took over as CEO from Phil Spencer, we’ve seen the return of Xbox console exclusives in Gears of War: E-Day and the upcoming Clockwork Revolution. Of course, there have also been extensive price hikes for the Xbox Series X/S, including in Europe and the UK.
However, with the next-gen Project Helix supporting Xbox and PC titles, Xbox is seemingly toying with the idea of exiting from Steam. Windows Central’s Jez Corden reported this on the Xbox Two Podcast, claiming “Microsoft has some plans with regards to how they show up on PC. And I don’t know what that pertains to with regards to Steam, but the plans that I know about, and I’m being very careful here, kind of suggest it gives them a window to potentially pull out of Steam. So, I would not be shocked if eventually we do see a universe where Microsoft quits Steam.”
He then clarified on Twitter that he “REALLY” doubts the company would, but “they’re doing something that could potentially give them a window to do so.” Nevertheless, there’s “too much money to be left on the table in my opinion. It was part of a bigger discussion.”
This mirrors rumors that circulated about turning the division around, such as potentially spinning it off or even selling it, even though nothing is set in stone. But there’s even more mystery involved because we don’t know what Microsoft has planned that could cause it to abandon Steam.
Granted, its latest title, Halo: Campaign Evolved, hasn’t set the Steam charts on fire, but it has seen success this year with Forza Horizon 6. Besides becoming the biggest launch for Xbox Game Studios on the platform, Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliott estimated over three million sales as of June 1st (which is all the more impressive, given the open-world racer launched on May 19th).
As always, time will tell, and with Project Helix allegedly out in Holiday 2027, we’ll hopefully learn more sooner rather than later.
