While there is plenty of doom and gloom about Xbox thanks to reports of impending layoffs and studio closures on the horizon, CEO of the division, Asha Sharma, and CCO, Matt Booty, are quite optimistic about the future. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the 25th anniversary of Xbox, the two spoke about all of the IPs and franchises they have, and how they compare to the rest of the entertainment landscape.
Booty noted that Xbox has “over 20 franchises that have made a billion dollars, lifetime.” He went on to speak about the responsibility he feels to “shepherd” these franchises. “We’re the stewards of that IP. We’re not the owners, because really, the communities own those.”
Sharma, in turn, spoke about just how massive Xbox’s franchises have been in recent times, especially when it comes to cross-media properties like Amazon’s Fallout series and the Minecraft movie. As for games, she also spoke about the massive success of the Call of Duty franchise.
“You won’t see us try to become the biggest linear provider in the world or anything like that, but I think great games are culture, and culture is entertainment,” said Sharma. “If you think about it, we’ve got the number two show of all time on Amazon [Fallout], Minecraft was top 5 in 2025, Call of Duty is bigger than the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, it all measures. [There’s] more appetite to work with us on titles than ever before.”
Booty also spoke about Netflix’s live-action Gears of War film adaptation that is currently in production, being directed by David Leitch (The Fall Guy, Bullet Train), and written by Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part 3). The film’s story will revolve around the origins of Delta Squad, which has been described as “a ragtag crew of soldiers who wage a desperate war for survival against the Locust, a race of subterranean creatures set on destroying humanity.”
Booty spoke about how the core of the Gears franchise has been about the bonds between the various team members that the games focus on. “When you go visit the studio, their tagline is ‘Never Fight Alone.’ So when you think about that for a dramatic narrative, it’s a pretty good starting point.”
However, when asked if Halo might ever see another adaptation after the poor reception of the one produced by Paramount+, Booty didn’t quite commit to any solid plans for the future. He did, however, talk about the franchise being one of the most important ones for Xbox.
“Halo, first and foremost, is one of our biggest franchises,” he said. “It’s iconic to Xbox, and we’re certainly going to invest going forward.”
As for Sharma, she spoke about how her first job as CEO of Xbox would be to learn about the division, its past, and how it became the company that it is known as today. “I’m learning a lot about the brilliance of our artists and what it takes to make a game — and not just a game that is beautiful, but a game that is just so deep with characters and worlds and has potential to invite millions, if not tens of millions of players,” she said.
