Following Microsoft’s (second) rebrand of Xbox to XBOX, Guy Richards, the director of the company’s independent games division ID@Xbox, has said that the gaming division of Microsoft isn’t quite going through a “midlife crisis” right now. Rather, he calls the company’s recent moves an epiphany of sorts. In an interview with GamesRadar during the Digital Dragons Conference 2026, Richard is quite optimistic about the future of XBOX.
“We believe there’s going to be more change happening in the next couple of years than the 25 years that got us here,” he said. Richard went on to explain that XBOX is planning “a lot throughout the year” to celebrate its 25th anniversary as a console platform.
“There’s already been some announcements we’ve made, like bringing back our FanFest,” he said. “There’s lots of exciting things that we’re doing throughout the summer as well that we’ll be looking forward to share more about.”
As for what these celebrations will entail, Richard noted that it won’t revolve too much around XBOX looking at its past. Rather, the company is looking to set itself up for its next 25 years.
“If you think about what’s going on in the industry, in terms of how player behavior is shifting, players are playing across different devices, they’re accessing games in different ways, free-to-play, premium, subscription, business models are all changing,” he said.
“We’re going to keep meeting players where they are. The world continues to evolve and change, and we’re going to make sure Xbox is a great place for developers and players.”
Under the leadership of new CEO Asha Sharma, XBOX has made quite a few major moves, affecting consumers at large with the price decrease for Game Pass, as well as behind-the-scenes decisions with a major shake-up in its leadership structure. The latter happened earlier this month and involved the appointment of Jared Palmer as the new VP of Xbox Engineering, and Tim Allen as the CVP of Xbox Design, among many other appointments.
A few executives who were already part of the XBOX divisions have been reassigned to new roles. This includes VP of Xbox gaming devices and ecosystems, Jason Ronald, who is now “accountable for Project Helix and the Xbox platform”. The moves have also involved some executives stepping down, including former CVP of gaming ecosystem organization Kevin Gammill. CVP of Xbox devices and ecosystems, Roanne Sones, on the other hand, is taking a leave of absence for now and will be returning to the company as an advisor.
“Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers,” said Sharma in her announcement. “Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business back on track.”
“As part of this shift, you’ll see us begin to retire features that don’t align with where we’re headed. We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console.”
