{"id":1986571,"date":"2026-06-12T12:55:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986571"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:55:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:55:36","slug":"xbox-studio-shutdowns-and-ad-funded-subscriptions-likely-after-asha-sharmas-stark-reset-warning-analysts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986571","title":{"rendered":"Xbox Studio Shutdowns and Ad-Funded Subscriptions Likely After Asha Sharma&#8217;s Stark &#8216;Reset&#8217; Warning, Analysts Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-cy=\"article-content\" class=\"jsx-2870106660 article-content page-0\">\n<section data-cy=\"article-subtitle\" class=\"article jsx-3932497636 article-section jsx-28683165 news\" data-autopogo=\"true\">\n<section class=\"article-page\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/tech\/xbox-series-x\">Xbox<\/a> will likely undergo studio shutdowns and consider ad-supported subscription models following newly-installed CEO Asha Sharma&#8217;s blunt warning that a corporate &#8220;reset&#8221; was now necessary, gaming analysts have told IGN. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sharma&#8217;s memo to Xbox employees, subsequently <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/06\/10\/next-100-days-xbox-reset\/\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published publicly online<\/a>, painted an unflinching portrait of the problems facing Microsoft&#8217;s gaming division \u2014 and made it clear that difficult decisions were now necessary in the coming days. Indeed, the memo&#8217;s arrival prompted a report by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-06-10\/xbox-plans-significant-layoffs-as-it-transforms-under-new-ceo-asha-sharma\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomberg<\/a> that suggested a <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-reportedly-planning-significant-layoffs-budget-cuts-for-marketing-and-more\">wave of layoffs would arrive as soon as next month<\/a> \u2014 bringing excitement around the brand crashing back to earth after an encouraging <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-games-showcase-2026-live-updates-every-game-announcement\">Xbox Games Showcase<\/a>, which included peeks at numerous upcoming blockbusters and <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-will-try-and-do-more-exclusives-once-the-business-is-healthy-says-asha-sharma\">some games being earmarked as console exclusives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;The company stopped sharing detailed Xbox sales data in 2013, so Asha mentioning the 3% profit margin now is actually big news to justify what is coming soon,&#8221; said Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, noting Sharma&#8217;s public reveal of Xbox&#8217;s &#8220;accountability margin&#8221; spoke volumes. &#8220;The business is clearly not working: Microsoft could make more money just leaving its cash to the bank, as the interest rate for corporations in the U.S. is over 3.6% currently.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Considering Xbox was one of the biggest spenders over the past decade, buying up ZeniMax Media and ABK [Activision Blizzard King], it is now looking for ways to capture a return on that investment,&#8221; agreed Joost van Dreunen, video game industry researcher and professor at the NYU Stern School of Business. &#8220;It is common practice for firms to reduce headcount in the wake of an acquisition, but in this case, we can identify several other unavoidable catalysts. First, the RAMpocalypse is real. Xbox had already started to derisk its hardware business by partnering with third-parties and creating a partner network. The tripling of hardware component costs has further catalyzed that effort, yet hardware remains a low-margin part of the business.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"><\/button><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Every Video Game Franchise Xbox Owns After Acquiring Activision Blizzard<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-list\" class=\"scrollbar jsx-2072772685 jsx-4243969252 images-list\"><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Call of Duty&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLet&apos;s not mince words. Xbox now owns the best selling video game each year. Call of Duty was at the centre of conversations during the acquisition process and it&apos;s no surprise why, with the shooter topping sales charts each and every year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is next up, of course, appealing to player&apos;s nostalgia with multiplayer maps of yore when it launches November 10, 2023.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-412047461 overlay progressive-image jsx-2338608387 expand\" data-cy=\"slideshow-image-overlay\">\n<div data-cy=\"element-caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490\">View 70 Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Diablo&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nActivision now owns one of 2023&apos;s other hottest game franchises in Diablo. The fourth entry launched in June and, while this means there likely won&apos;t be another game for a while, Blizzard has promised annual expansions for the action role-playing game. Diablo 4 was a huge hit, with more than ten million players in the first month.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Halo&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLet&apos;s not forget Xbox&apos;s most iconic franchise Halo. Master Chief held a prominent spot in Microsoft&apos;s trailer welcoming Activision Blizzard under its wing and it&apos;s no surprise why. Though many consider it went through a lull in quality as 343 Industries took over from Bungie, Halo Infinite&apos;s single-player and multiplayer both earned an &quot;amazing&quot; rating from IGN. The developer is still releasing updates for the game, with no word on a sequel yet.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;World of Warcraft&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nWorld of Warcraft is the gift that keeps on giving, for both players and Blizzard, and now Microsoft. Released in 2004, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game defined the genre and became a cultural touchpoint beyond gaming. It&apos;s another that isn&apos;t due a sequel as Blizzard continues to support the game with updates and major expansions every few years. Dragonflight arrived in 2022, for example, and the tenth expansion, that will likely arrive for the game&apos;s 20th anniversary, is set to be a big one.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;The Elder Scrolls&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLikely the biggest win from Xbox&apos;s last major acquisition, that of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiary Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls is now in the hands of Microsoft. While this franchise hasn&apos;t seen a release since 2011&apos;s Skyrim, its status as one of the most famous and beloved video games of all time means its long-awaited sequel, The Elder Scrolls 6, is as hotly anticipated as any game out there. The game entered early development in August 2023 but won&apos;t launch until at least 2028, and seemingly only on Xbox.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Changes made during the first 100 days of Sharma&#8217;s reign have also likely eaten into Xbox&#8217;s balance sheet, van Dreunen suggested, such as the cuts to the price of Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and the decision to give up PS5 revenue for <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/gears-of-war-e-day\">Gears of War: E-Day<\/a> and <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/clockwork-revolution\">Clockwork Revolution<\/a>. These choices might prove popular among fans, but must also ultimately be balanced financially.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Game Pass was too expensive, and monetizing players via a monthly subscription clearly has a ceiling. [Sharma has] also signaled the return to exclusives as a central part of its platform strategy. But the honeymoon phase of new management is going to come to an end soon, and we\u2019ll start seeing the real work that goes into turning a $25 billion gaming titan around,&#8221; van Dreunen continued. &#8220;Before Xbox rolls out additional revenue streams around user-generated content markets and in-game advertising in a long-term, sustainable way, it will be forced to lower its overhead to maintain the 30% margin that Satya Nadella will expect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sadly, layoffs now seem likely. Sharma has suggested that the brand&#8217;s biggest franchises would now be the company&#8217;s priority, leaving employees not working on core IP such as Halo, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, and Minecraft, likely feeling nervous about the future. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;A 3% accountability margin, down year-on-year, against $20 billion of investment over five years \u2014 while revenue actually fell \u2014 is a line written for investors,&#8221; said Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics. &#8220;It&#8217;s bad. My read is that the strategy becomes &#8216;Xbox doesn&#8217;t need to make all the games.&#8217; [The company will] concentrate first-party spend on the handful of industry-defining, entertainment-scale IP \u2013 the franchises now extending into TV and film \u2013 and push the smaller, indie-adjacent bets out to third-party partners instead of funding them in-house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;Beloved, talent-dense, critically adored, and small [studios] are on the chopping block&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Pointing back to Sharma&#8217;s memo, Elliot said the CEO essentially said as much when stating that Xbox expanded its studio system for a multi-strategy content pipeline it no longer needed, now that content was cheap and plentiful. &#8220;Which means the studios most exposed are the ones that are brilliant for prestige and rotten for the spreadsheet,&#8221; Elliot continued. &#8220;The Double Fines and Ninja Theories of the portfolio \u2013 beloved, talent-dense, critically adored, and small \u2013 are on the chopping block. They\u2019re wonderful for hearts and minds, but hard to defend in a margin review.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Microsoft will run through its Xbox business with a bulldozer this year,&#8221; Toto said, bluntly. &#8220;I hope I am wrong, but it looks like we can expect not only staff cuts but also studio shutdowns. The memo sounds like Asha might even change how Xbox is structured fundamentally. One thing is clear: Xbox at the end of this year will be totally different from the Phil Spencer times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Structurally that may be correct, though the looming impact of layoffs feels sadly familiar. &#8220;I&#8217;m genuinely worried about that tier of studio given the rhetoric in the memo,&#8221; Elliot said, of Xbox&#8217;s smaller development teams. &#8220;They were acquired in an era of growth-at-all-costs, and that era is explicitly what this memo is unwinding. And again, it\u2019s not new, either. In 2024, Xbox shut Tango Gameworks, fresh off Hi-Fi Rush, and closed Arkane Austin too. Those studios were prestige-rich, talent-dense, modest on the balance sheet. The memo&#8217;s &#8216;we expanded the studio system&#8230; [and] found ourselves over extended&#8217; is the same logic that ended Tango under Booty and Spencer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-2896921488 video jsx-2008855984 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9\">\n<div class=\"badge jsx-1349606671 jsx-3647116352\"><span class=\"ign-icon icon-play jsx-2750866048 jsx-1044454891\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-play\" aria-label=\"Play\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Will exclusive games help turn Xbox&#8217;s business around? Analysts seem unsure, and Elliot believes Xbox&#8217;s statement that exclusivity decisions will be made on a &#8216;case by case&#8217; basis gives the company significant leeway to make the rules up as it goes along. &#8220;[A] PS5 version of Gears was clearly in development, retailers were lining up pre-orders, and it got yanked late enough that their own staff were blindsided. Pulling a Halo trailer from a PlayStation event is the same instinct \u2013 symbolic, relationship-damaging, and revenue-negative. I\u2019m not sure how worth it the exclusivity change is in the long term \u2013 and I expect there to be some backtracking once the revenue numbers come in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;If the data is any guide, the titles that stay Xbox-first or Xbox-only will mostly be the ones a sliver of the PlayStation audience would have bought anyway,&#8221; Elliot continued, &#8220;so nobody is really losing sleep over that math. Exclusivity handled &#8216;case by case&#8217; is a polite way of saying &#8216;symbolic where it&#8217;s cheap, abandoned where it&#8217;s expensive.&#8217; The tell will be the third or fourth notable title after Gears: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. If those quietly turn up on PS5 \u2013 framed, of course, as a thoughtful &#8216;case-by-case&#8217; decision \u2013 then the reversal has already begun, and the exclusivity push was always a hearts-and-minds gesture with a shelf life. I&#8217;d expect any backtracking to land after a quarter or two of revenue numbers, once the cost of walking away from 90M-plus PS5 owners shows up in a report someone has to present. That&#8217;s the moment the spreadsheet wins the argument it always wins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">What of Game Pass, which has returned to growth following price cuts, though only after months of falling subscriber numbers? Analysts agree that a lower-price, ad-funded subscription tier is inevitable, aping similar offerings from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. <\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;It&#8217;s reasonable to assume that ads will become a more significant part of the Xbox business model&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;In terms of business models, ad-supported strategies are an effective way to deliver cheaper access to products and services for those that don\u2019t want to pay significant sums or that are happy to have an ad-based solution in exchange for more value,&#8221; said Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere Analysis. &#8220;Ad strategies are working very effectively in the streaming video on demand market to lower subscription costs, are deployed in thousands of mobile games as reward ads used by millions every day and are used to offer cheaper tech to consumers \u2013 Amazon\u2019s Kindles spring to mind. I think it\u2019s reasonable to assume that ads will become a more significant part of the Xbox business model mix, likely in Game Pass first, but could be used to deliver cheaper Xbox hardware in the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It&#8217;s hard to imagine a tougher time for Xbox to be working on new console hardware, building back from far behind PlayStation and Nintendo in terms of current-gen platform sales, during a component pricing crisis and what feels like a moment of real question around the soul of the brand. It&#8217;s a situation that Harding-Rolls described as &#8220;highly challenging,&#8221; amid high inflation, the knock-on impact on staffing costs, and the console component cost increases. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In an interview this week, <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-boss-says-a-mass-audience-cant-afford-thousands-of-dollars-to-spend-on-a-next-gen-console-so-microsoft-must-look-at-new-business-models\">Sharma said it was unrealistic to expect any console to succeed with a price point in the thousands of dollars<\/a> \u2014 which is what the current crop of machines are now edging towards after repeated price rises, let alone the next hardware generation. Focusing solely on being the biggest and best console is no longer an option, Sharma continued, and instead there is a need to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.<\/p>\n<p><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"><\/button><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"What is an Xbox? Microsoft has spent 25 years trying to answer the question, but for fans, the answer is easy: \u201cXbox\u201d evokes one-eared headsets wired into the memory card slots of massive controllers with breakaway cords. A dashboard with gleaming skeuomorphic blades and avatars adorned in earned accessories. That sound that plays when a hard-earned Achievement finally pops. \u201cXbox\u201d means heavy-duty hardware. Tactile sensations. Friends connecting for the first time. And that\u2019s before we even get to the games.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n\nIt may be that the very idea of an Xbox game is coming to an end. Microsoft has undeniably shifted its tactics, with a new focus on multi-platform releases, handheld Xboxes that are actually miniature Windows computers, and the potential that future Xbox consoles may simply be gaming PCs. So now seems as good a time as any to look back at the entire history of Microsoft\u2019s console journey and rank the best Xbox games, with help from our friends at Outside Xbox, the multimillion-subscriber channel that serves up weekly videos about video games and video game-adjacent things&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n\nWhen we say \u201cthe best Xbox games,\u201d we mean the ones that most evoke that weighty sense of \u201cXboxness.\u201d Some are first-party, most are exclusives, and all of them are indelibly tied to the legacy of and fondness for a platform that\u2019s left a massive mark on gaming. These are the 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time. We&apos;ll be updating this list daily with 25 games at 7am PST\/10am ET\/3pm GMT from Tuesday, 20th January to Friday, 23rd January, until number one is revealed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-list\" class=\"scrollbar jsx-2072772685 jsx-4243969252 images-list\"><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;100. 1 vs. 100&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nA large-scale, online multiplayer game show, played in real-time by actual players who could win actual prizes? It was a bold idea, and Microsoft&apos;s 1 vs. 100 actually did it. Adapted from the TV show of the same name, players were randomly dropped into one of three pools whenever the show went live: the Crowd, the Mob, and the One, with the One competing against the Mob in trivia rounds where reaction times were just as important an ingredient to victory as the correct answer to the question being asked. Prizes ranged from 80 Microsoft Points ($1) to a free Xbox Live Arcade game, to 10,000 Microsoft Points ($125). 1 vs. 100 was a true social and technical experiment in the world of gaming, and here&apos;s the thing: it worked! Sadly, it was canceled after two &quot;seasons&quot; and can&apos;t be played now, but it lives on in the memory as one of the best and most innovative Xbox games ever made.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-412047461 overlay progressive-image jsx-2338608387 expand\" data-cy=\"slideshow-image-overlay\">\n<div data-cy=\"element-caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490\">View 101 Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;99. Conker: Live and Reloaded&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nWhen Microsoft acquired Nintendo&apos;s second-party darling Rare for $375 million, the possibilities were endless. One of the first games Xbox got from the British studio was Conker: Live and Reloaded, a remake of N64&apos;s Conker&apos;s Bad Fur Day that added online multiplayer. And while that competitive play was quite fun, thanks in part to the juxtaposition of over-the-top violence and adorable characters on screen, it was the technological level-up from the N64 original that was truly stunning. The action-platformer was now &quot;fur-shaded,&quot; giving the manes of Conker and his buddies a unique &quot;next-gen&quot; new look. Ironically, Live and Reloaded was actually more heavily censored than Bad Fur Day, but both campaign and multiplayer were nevertheless a great way to introduce Rare to its new Xbox player base.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;98. Top Spin&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nBelieve it or not, there was a time when EA didn&apos;t support Xbox Live. And so Microsoft started building its own sports games that would take advantage of its online service, and of those titles, Top Spin was by far the best. It was a tennis sim featuring a career mode full of real-life pros, but what made Top Spin memorable \u2013 in addition to its core gameplay being so pitch-perfect, of course \u2013 was its online play. You&apos;d create your character, build them up, and take them online, pitting yourself against other players in ranked matches that, if you won, would move you further up the global rankings. It all worked perfectly (and even tied in XSN, if you remember that little experiment), and made Top Spin the best tennis game the Xbox has ever been served up.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;97. Binary Domain&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nThe Xbox 360 was a treasure chest full of those \u201c7 out of 10s\u201d that you just couldn\u2019t put down; those rough-around-the-edges cult classics that kept us more than entertained for a weekend before we moved on to the next. Binary Domain is a perfect example \u2013 a third-person shooter from Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, this sci-fi story didn\u2019t play too differently from established cover shooters such as Gears of War, but came with its own unique quirks. Direct control of your squadmates was chief among these, with the ability to command them in six different languages via a headset or the Kinect sensor, a fun little gimmick that took advantage of the Xbox\u2019s ultimately doomed experiment with its camera peripheral. Binary Domain may have never fully reached the heights of its lofty ambitions, but it still finds a place in our hearts.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;96. Steel Battalion&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nThe original Xbox was a maximalist, brutalist brick of post-Y2K design and Steel Battalion is the purest expression of its commitment to inconvenience. The Capcom-developed mech game is arguably nothing special by itself, but the humongous HOTAS horror with which it came bundled has earned it Xbox immortality. Weighing in at a whopping 17 pounds, boasting three panels, three foot pedals, and industrial-grade divorced dad energy, Steel Battalion is the video game equivalent of \u201crolling coal:\u201d an excessive, magnificent, indulgent peripheral that cost $200 in 2002 money. Xbox is a burly, hefty console that demands a burly, hefty experience, and Steel Battalion more than fits the bill.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Xbox is still committed to a next-gen console but is considering how it can deliver something that will be desired by Xbox gamers, while not pricing out huge swaths of gamers and potentially growing the audience,&#8221; Harding-Rolls said. &#8220;It\u2019s also thinking about how it can de-risk itself from the costs of subsidising hardware as component costs continue to escalate. There are a few areas I think Xbox could investigate. Xbox has already partnered with Asus to deliver the ROG Xbox Ally, and this could be extended to next-gen console hardware. This sort of OEM arrangement could help with access to components, preferential pricing for storage and memory, flexible configurations of the same platform and extending distribution. This is not a silver bullet and there are already historical examples in the games space where this strategy hasn\u2019t really worked \u2013 such as Valve\u2019s Steam Machines. If this is not the approach the company takes, I think Xbox will be looking to get closer to key component manufacturers to put itself in a better position in terms of supply-chain negotiation and prioritisation. Sony\u2019s long consumer electronics history and its other consumer tech businesses means it is better positioned in this context.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;New business models and partnerships for hardware could mean that Xbox stops trying to be the sole one building the box,&#8221; Elliot agreed. &#8220;Expect third-party manufactured hardware \u2013 partners building Xbox-branded or Xbox-compatible devices under licence \u2013 rather than Microsoft eating the full bill of materials and the subsidy on every unit. The ROG Ally collaboration was the trial balloon for this. And of course mobile is that longer-term North Star. But as for the core, Xbox still wants Helix to converge its console and PC offerings. Windows is the actual platform, and the &#8216;Xbox&#8217; you buy becomes one of several doors into the same ecosystem rather than a single loss-leading box Microsoft fabricates itself. But Xbox is appealing to its console fans along the way as it transitions them into the future. That\u2019s why Helix is half-console, half-PC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t tell tens of millions of console loyalists &#8216;the box is dead, move to Windows&#8217; overnight&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t tell tens of millions of console loyalists &#8216;the box is dead, move to Windows&#8217; overnight without torching the goodwill you just spent 100 days rebuilding \u2013 or potentially pissing off 25-year fans,&#8221; Elliot continued. &#8220;So, Xbox is still shipping hardware and keeping some smaller exclusives to keep the core warm, but the actual centre of gravity is quietly sliding to PC, mobile, and cloud. Helix being half-console, half-PC is that compromise made physical. The word &#8216;Helix&#8217; is most commonly known in biology to describe human DNA, where two intertwined, spiral strands form a twisted ladder. It\u2019s literally in the name \u2013 Xbox is converging console and PC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A focus on third-party hardware seems the most likely route for Xbox following Sharma&#8217;s most recent comments, though other options are also possible. Microsoft could restart its subsidised console purchase plan, which offered access to Xbox machines via an ongoing subscription \u2014 though alternative third-party leasing and payment options now existing make this less likely. The company could also lean into its cloud-streaming offering and re-examine the idea of an Xbox streaming stick. But, as Harding-Rolls points out, &#8220;to stream Xbox games, there still needs to be Xbox hardware in data centres to support this model. One of the key challenges that Xbox is dealing with is storage and memory availability and this doesn\u2019t in fact solve this issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"tierlist-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" id=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\" data-cy=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217\">\n<div><dialog class=\"dialog tier-list-modal jsx-55470089\" aria-labelledby=\"contentLabel\"><\/dialog><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_header__xyy5a\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3647836811 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_title__UxzQx\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon icon-tier-list jsx-2750866048 jsx-1879929830\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-tier-list\" alt=\"Tier List\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/TierList.c19f1c86.svg?cors=0\"><\/p>\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-2321054750 TierListHeader_full__J6p2u\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-957202555 TierListHeader_compact__7JWp1 balanced\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-740175521 fade-in-out\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-12151557 tier-list-skeleton\"><span class=\"stack jsx-659253495 tiers\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_s-tier__uaHwM\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row s-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_s-tier__Jrv1z\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_a-tier__z0Xky\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row a-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_a-tier__EGxbh\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_b-tier__nsZIP\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row b-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_b-tier__aI1S1\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_c-tier__UohGG\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row c-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_c-tier__ivXOD\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_d-tier__5Z_iU\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row d-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_d-tier__fycMA\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-1061896584 content\"><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;There&#8217;s a messier possibility worth naming,&#8221; Elliot concludes, &#8220;that the confident language and candour are masking real strategic uncertainty. The clearest evidence is the contradiction sitting inside the comms \u2013 choosing to forgo revenue by pulling games off the biggest install base one week, then lamenting that revenue is too low in the same breath. When you talk out of both sides of your mouth, trust starts to dissolve. The Spencer era had that habit, and the Xbox of new reads like a continuation of it, now with employees being gently primed for another round of layoffs a few months after <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.microsoft.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/20\/asha-sharma-named-evp-and-ceo-microsoft-gaming\/\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Booty said<\/a>: &#8216;To be clear, there are no organisational changes underway for our studios.\u2019 I also note that Xbox said there would be no layoffs after the Activision Blizzard acquisition. There were a lot of layoffs.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;A healthy Xbox is good for all of us, competition included, and they&#8217;re saying a lot of the right things. The candour is real and their diagnosis of the problems are mostly correct. But there\u2019s no easy cure. Trying to be simultaneously the world&#8217;s largest game publisher and a first-party hardware platform, at a 5x component premium, with a first-party slate that can&#8217;t yet carry exclusivity on its own \u2013 that&#8217;s the bit I can&#8217;t make add up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"poll-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217 poll-content-block\" data-cy=\"poll-content-block\">\n<fieldset class=\"answers jsx-332304107\" role=\"radiogroup\" aria-labelledby=\"poll-question\">\n<legend class=\"stack jsx-2624643483 jsx-4192417768\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"><\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"poll-question\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-1377259516 headline\" id=\"poll-question\">What do you most want out of Xbox&#8217;s next-gen Project Helix?<\/h2>\n<p><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-4218469134 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1 jsx-3010959690 jsx-2338608387\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/legend>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer highlight\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65281\" id=\"answerId65281-label\"><span class=\"label\">The ability to play my Steam catalog on it.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1945348876\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65282\" id=\"answerId65282-label\"><span class=\"label\">Exclusive games.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65283\" id=\"answerId65283-label\"><span class=\"label\">Powerful hardware.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65284\" id=\"answerId65284-label\"><span class=\"label\">New quality of life features (like Quick Resume).<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65285\" id=\"answerId65285-label\"><span class=\"label\">An affordable price.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65286\" id=\"answerId65286-label\"><span class=\"label\">Something else.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2624643483 jsx-4255654680 poll-controls\"><button class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-2267841559 contained disabled full-width large\" disabled type=\"submit\" data-cy=\"poll-answer-btn\">Answer<\/button><button class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button jsx-3381835873 jsx-1624977611 nav next-button small\" title=\"See Results\" aria-label=\"See Results\" data-cy=\"see-results-btn\"><span style=\"white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;text-align:right\">See Results<\/span><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-4173866675\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" aria-label=\"See Results\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"accent-divider\" class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-2786329600\"><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Photographer: David Paul Morris\/Bloomberg via Getty Images.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tomphillipseg.bsky.social\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-1475529924\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-2155806329 adunit-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jsx-2155806329 bobble bobble-1 pogocnt pg-article\">\n<div data-mix-name=\"secondaryMedrec\" data-pos=\"1\" data-pogo-hide=\"1\" class=\"jsx-343126785 pogo-slot\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<section class=\"article-page\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/tech\/xbox-series-x\">Xbox<\/a> will likely undergo studio shutdowns and consider ad-supported subscription models following newly-installed CEO Asha Sharma&#8217;s blunt warning that a corporate &#8220;reset&#8221; was now necessary, gaming analysts have told IGN. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sharma&#8217;s memo to Xbox employees, subsequently <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/06\/10\/next-100-days-xbox-reset\/\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">published publicly online<\/a>, painted an unflinching portrait of the problems facing Microsoft&#8217;s gaming division \u2014 and made it clear that difficult decisions were now necessary in the coming days. Indeed, the memo&#8217;s arrival prompted a report by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-06-10\/xbox-plans-significant-layoffs-as-it-transforms-under-new-ceo-asha-sharma\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomberg<\/a> that suggested a <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-reportedly-planning-significant-layoffs-budget-cuts-for-marketing-and-more\">wave of layoffs would arrive as soon as next month<\/a> \u2014 bringing excitement around the brand crashing back to earth after an encouraging <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-games-showcase-2026-live-updates-every-game-announcement\">Xbox Games Showcase<\/a>, which included peeks at numerous upcoming blockbusters and <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-will-try-and-do-more-exclusives-once-the-business-is-healthy-says-asha-sharma\">some games being earmarked as console exclusives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;The company stopped sharing detailed Xbox sales data in 2013, so Asha mentioning the 3% profit margin now is actually big news to justify what is coming soon,&#8221; said Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, noting Sharma&#8217;s public reveal of Xbox&#8217;s &#8220;accountability margin&#8221; spoke volumes. &#8220;The business is clearly not working: Microsoft could make more money just leaving its cash to the bank, as the interest rate for corporations in the U.S. is over 3.6% currently.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Considering Xbox was one of the biggest spenders over the past decade, buying up ZeniMax Media and ABK [Activision Blizzard King], it is now looking for ways to capture a return on that investment,&#8221; agreed Joost van Dreunen, video game industry researcher and professor at the NYU Stern School of Business. &#8220;It is common practice for firms to reduce headcount in the wake of an acquisition, but in this case, we can identify several other unavoidable catalysts. First, the RAMpocalypse is real. Xbox had already started to derisk its hardware business by partnering with third-parties and creating a partner network. The tripling of hardware component costs has further catalyzed that effort, yet hardware remains a low-margin part of the business.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"><\/button><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Every Video Game Franchise Xbox Owns After Acquiring Activision Blizzard<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-list\" class=\"scrollbar jsx-2072772685 jsx-4243969252 images-list\"><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Call of Duty&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLet&apos;s not mince words. Xbox now owns the best selling video game each year. Call of Duty was at the centre of conversations during the acquisition process and it&apos;s no surprise why, with the shooter topping sales charts each and every year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is next up, of course, appealing to player&apos;s nostalgia with multiplayer maps of yore when it launches November 10, 2023.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-412047461 overlay progressive-image jsx-2338608387 expand\" data-cy=\"slideshow-image-overlay\">\n<div data-cy=\"element-caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490\">View 70 Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Diablo&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nActivision now owns one of 2023&apos;s other hottest game franchises in Diablo. The fourth entry launched in June and, while this means there likely won&apos;t be another game for a while, Blizzard has promised annual expansions for the action role-playing game. Diablo 4 was a huge hit, with more than ten million players in the first month.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;Halo&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLet&apos;s not forget Xbox&apos;s most iconic franchise Halo. Master Chief held a prominent spot in Microsoft&apos;s trailer welcoming Activision Blizzard under its wing and it&apos;s no surprise why. Though many consider it went through a lull in quality as 343 Industries took over from Bungie, Halo Infinite&apos;s single-player and multiplayer both earned an &quot;amazing&quot; rating from IGN. The developer is still releasing updates for the game, with no word on a sequel yet.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;World of Warcraft&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nWorld of Warcraft is the gift that keeps on giving, for both players and Blizzard, and now Microsoft. Released in 2004, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game defined the genre and became a cultural touchpoint beyond gaming. It&apos;s another that isn&apos;t due a sequel as Blizzard continues to support the game with updates and major expansions every few years. Dragonflight arrived in 2022, for example, and the tenth expansion, that will likely arrive for the game&apos;s 20th anniversary, is set to be a big one.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;h3&gt;The Elder Scrolls&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\nLikely the biggest win from Xbox&apos;s last major acquisition, that of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiary Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls is now in the hands of Microsoft. While this franchise hasn&apos;t seen a release since 2011&apos;s Skyrim, its status as one of the most famous and beloved video games of all time means its long-awaited sequel, The Elder Scrolls 6, is as hotly anticipated as any game out there. The game entered early development in August 2023 but won&apos;t launch until at least 2028, and seemingly only on Xbox.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Changes made during the first 100 days of Sharma&#8217;s reign have also likely eaten into Xbox&#8217;s balance sheet, van Dreunen suggested, such as the cuts to the price of Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and the decision to give up PS5 revenue for <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/gears-of-war-e-day\">Gears of War: E-Day<\/a> and <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/clockwork-revolution\">Clockwork Revolution<\/a>. These choices might prove popular among fans, but must also ultimately be balanced financially.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Game Pass was too expensive, and monetizing players via a monthly subscription clearly has a ceiling. [Sharma has] also signaled the return to exclusives as a central part of its platform strategy. But the honeymoon phase of new management is going to come to an end soon, and we\u2019ll start seeing the real work that goes into turning a $25 billion gaming titan around,&#8221; van Dreunen continued. &#8220;Before Xbox rolls out additional revenue streams around user-generated content markets and in-game advertising in a long-term, sustainable way, it will be forced to lower its overhead to maintain the 30% margin that Satya Nadella will expect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sadly, layoffs now seem likely. Sharma has suggested that the brand&#8217;s biggest franchises would now be the company&#8217;s priority, leaving employees not working on core IP such as Halo, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, and Minecraft, likely feeling nervous about the future. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;A 3% accountability margin, down year-on-year, against $20 billion of investment over five years \u2014 while revenue actually fell \u2014 is a line written for investors,&#8221; said Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics. &#8220;It&#8217;s bad. My read is that the strategy becomes &#8216;Xbox doesn&#8217;t need to make all the games.&#8217; [The company will] concentrate first-party spend on the handful of industry-defining, entertainment-scale IP \u2013 the franchises now extending into TV and film \u2013 and push the smaller, indie-adjacent bets out to third-party partners instead of funding them in-house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;Beloved, talent-dense, critically adored, and small [studios] are on the chopping block&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Pointing back to Sharma&#8217;s memo, Elliot said the CEO essentially said as much when stating that Xbox expanded its studio system for a multi-strategy content pipeline it no longer needed, now that content was cheap and plentiful. &#8220;Which means the studios most exposed are the ones that are brilliant for prestige and rotten for the spreadsheet,&#8221; Elliot continued. &#8220;The Double Fines and Ninja Theories of the portfolio \u2013 beloved, talent-dense, critically adored, and small \u2013 are on the chopping block. They\u2019re wonderful for hearts and minds, but hard to defend in a margin review.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Microsoft will run through its Xbox business with a bulldozer this year,&#8221; Toto said, bluntly. &#8220;I hope I am wrong, but it looks like we can expect not only staff cuts but also studio shutdowns. The memo sounds like Asha might even change how Xbox is structured fundamentally. One thing is clear: Xbox at the end of this year will be totally different from the Phil Spencer times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Structurally that may be correct, though the looming impact of layoffs feels sadly familiar. &#8220;I&#8217;m genuinely worried about that tier of studio given the rhetoric in the memo,&#8221; Elliot said, of Xbox&#8217;s smaller development teams. &#8220;They were acquired in an era of growth-at-all-costs, and that era is explicitly what this memo is unwinding. And again, it\u2019s not new, either. In 2024, Xbox shut Tango Gameworks, fresh off Hi-Fi Rush, and closed Arkane Austin too. Those studios were prestige-rich, talent-dense, modest on the balance sheet. The memo&#8217;s &#8216;we expanded the studio system&#8230; [and] found ourselves over extended&#8217; is the same logic that ended Tango under Booty and Spencer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-2896921488 video jsx-2008855984 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9\">\n<div class=\"badge jsx-1349606671 jsx-3647116352\"><span class=\"ign-icon icon-play jsx-2750866048 jsx-1044454891\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-play\" aria-label=\"Play\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Will exclusive games help turn Xbox&#8217;s business around? Analysts seem unsure, and Elliot believes Xbox&#8217;s statement that exclusivity decisions will be made on a &#8216;case by case&#8217; basis gives the company significant leeway to make the rules up as it goes along. &#8220;[A] PS5 version of Gears was clearly in development, retailers were lining up pre-orders, and it got yanked late enough that their own staff were blindsided. Pulling a Halo trailer from a PlayStation event is the same instinct \u2013 symbolic, relationship-damaging, and revenue-negative. I\u2019m not sure how worth it the exclusivity change is in the long term \u2013 and I expect there to be some backtracking once the revenue numbers come in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;If the data is any guide, the titles that stay Xbox-first or Xbox-only will mostly be the ones a sliver of the PlayStation audience would have bought anyway,&#8221; Elliot continued, &#8220;so nobody is really losing sleep over that math. Exclusivity handled &#8216;case by case&#8217; is a polite way of saying &#8216;symbolic where it&#8217;s cheap, abandoned where it&#8217;s expensive.&#8217; The tell will be the third or fourth notable title after Gears: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. If those quietly turn up on PS5 \u2013 framed, of course, as a thoughtful &#8216;case-by-case&#8217; decision \u2013 then the reversal has already begun, and the exclusivity push was always a hearts-and-minds gesture with a shelf life. I&#8217;d expect any backtracking to land after a quarter or two of revenue numbers, once the cost of walking away from 90M-plus PS5 owners shows up in a report someone has to present. That&#8217;s the moment the spreadsheet wins the argument it always wins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">What of Game Pass, which has returned to growth following price cuts, though only after months of falling subscriber numbers? Analysts agree that a lower-price, ad-funded subscription tier is inevitable, aping similar offerings from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. <\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;It&#8217;s reasonable to assume that ads will become a more significant part of the Xbox business model&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;In terms of business models, ad-supported strategies are an effective way to deliver cheaper access to products and services for those that don\u2019t want to pay significant sums or that are happy to have an ad-based solution in exchange for more value,&#8221; said Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere Analysis. &#8220;Ad strategies are working very effectively in the streaming video on demand market to lower subscription costs, are deployed in thousands of mobile games as reward ads used by millions every day and are used to offer cheaper tech to consumers \u2013 Amazon\u2019s Kindles spring to mind. I think it\u2019s reasonable to assume that ads will become a more significant part of the Xbox business model mix, likely in Game Pass first, but could be used to deliver cheaper Xbox hardware in the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It&#8217;s hard to imagine a tougher time for Xbox to be working on new console hardware, building back from far behind PlayStation and Nintendo in terms of current-gen platform sales, during a component pricing crisis and what feels like a moment of real question around the soul of the brand. It&#8217;s a situation that Harding-Rolls described as &#8220;highly challenging,&#8221; amid high inflation, the knock-on impact on staffing costs, and the console component cost increases. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In an interview this week, <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-boss-says-a-mass-audience-cant-afford-thousands-of-dollars-to-spend-on-a-next-gen-console-so-microsoft-must-look-at-new-business-models\">Sharma said it was unrealistic to expect any console to succeed with a price point in the thousands of dollars<\/a> \u2014 which is what the current crop of machines are now edging towards after repeated price rises, let alone the next hardware generation. Focusing solely on being the biggest and best console is no longer an option, Sharma continued, and instead there is a need to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.<\/p>\n<p><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"><\/button><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"What is an Xbox? Microsoft has spent 25 years trying to answer the question, but for fans, the answer is easy: \u201cXbox\u201d evokes one-eared headsets wired into the memory card slots of massive controllers with breakaway cords. A dashboard with gleaming skeuomorphic blades and avatars adorned in earned accessories. That sound that plays when a hard-earned Achievement finally pops. \u201cXbox\u201d means heavy-duty hardware. Tactile sensations. Friends connecting for the first time. And that\u2019s before we even get to the games.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n\nIt may be that the very idea of an Xbox game is coming to an end. Microsoft has undeniably shifted its tactics, with a new focus on multi-platform releases, handheld Xboxes that are actually miniature Windows computers, and the potential that future Xbox consoles may simply be gaming PCs. So now seems as good a time as any to look back at the entire history of Microsoft\u2019s console journey and rank the best Xbox games, with help from our friends at Outside Xbox, the multimillion-subscriber channel that serves up weekly videos about video games and video game-adjacent things&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n\nWhen we say \u201cthe best Xbox games,\u201d we mean the ones that most evoke that weighty sense of \u201cXboxness.\u201d Some are first-party, most are exclusives, and all of them are indelibly tied to the legacy of and fondness for a platform that\u2019s left a massive mark on gaming. These are the 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time. We&apos;ll be updating this list daily with 25 games at 7am PST\/10am ET\/3pm GMT from Tuesday, 20th January to Friday, 23rd January, until number one is revealed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-list\" class=\"scrollbar jsx-2072772685 jsx-4243969252 images-list\"><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;100. 1 vs. 100&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nA large-scale, online multiplayer game show, played in real-time by actual players who could win actual prizes? It was a bold idea, and Microsoft&apos;s 1 vs. 100 actually did it. Adapted from the TV show of the same name, players were randomly dropped into one of three pools whenever the show went live: the Crowd, the Mob, and the One, with the One competing against the Mob in trivia rounds where reaction times were just as important an ingredient to victory as the correct answer to the question being asked. Prizes ranged from 80 Microsoft Points ($1) to a free Xbox Live Arcade game, to 10,000 Microsoft Points ($125). 1 vs. 100 was a true social and technical experiment in the world of gaming, and here&apos;s the thing: it worked! Sadly, it was canceled after two &quot;seasons&quot; and can&apos;t be played now, but it lives on in the memory as one of the best and most innovative Xbox games ever made.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-412047461 overlay progressive-image jsx-2338608387 expand\" data-cy=\"slideshow-image-overlay\">\n<div data-cy=\"element-caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490\">View 101 Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;99. Conker: Live and Reloaded&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nWhen Microsoft acquired Nintendo&apos;s second-party darling Rare for $375 million, the possibilities were endless. One of the first games Xbox got from the British studio was Conker: Live and Reloaded, a remake of N64&apos;s Conker&apos;s Bad Fur Day that added online multiplayer. And while that competitive play was quite fun, thanks in part to the juxtaposition of over-the-top violence and adorable characters on screen, it was the technological level-up from the N64 original that was truly stunning. The action-platformer was now &quot;fur-shaded,&quot; giving the manes of Conker and his buddies a unique &quot;next-gen&quot; new look. Ironically, Live and Reloaded was actually more heavily censored than Bad Fur Day, but both campaign and multiplayer were nevertheless a great way to introduce Rare to its new Xbox player base.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;98. Top Spin&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nBelieve it or not, there was a time when EA didn&apos;t support Xbox Live. And so Microsoft started building its own sports games that would take advantage of its online service, and of those titles, Top Spin was by far the best. It was a tennis sim featuring a career mode full of real-life pros, but what made Top Spin memorable \u2013 in addition to its core gameplay being so pitch-perfect, of course \u2013 was its online play. You&apos;d create your character, build them up, and take them online, pitting yourself against other players in ranked matches that, if you won, would move you further up the global rankings. It all worked perfectly (and even tied in XSN, if you remember that little experiment), and made Top Spin the best tennis game the Xbox has ever been served up.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;97. Binary Domain&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nThe Xbox 360 was a treasure chest full of those \u201c7 out of 10s\u201d that you just couldn\u2019t put down; those rough-around-the-edges cult classics that kept us more than entertained for a weekend before we moved on to the next. Binary Domain is a perfect example \u2013 a third-person shooter from Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, this sci-fi story didn\u2019t play too differently from established cover shooters such as Gears of War, but came with its own unique quirks. Direct control of your squadmates was chief among these, with the ability to command them in six different languages via a headset or the Kinect sensor, a fun little gimmick that took advantage of the Xbox\u2019s ultimately doomed experiment with its camera peripheral. Binary Domain may have never fully reached the heights of its lofty ambitions, but it still finds a place in our hearts.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><button data-cy=\"gallery-image\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 gallery-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&lt;b&gt;96. Steel Battalion&lt;\/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\nThe original Xbox was a maximalist, brutalist brick of post-Y2K design and Steel Battalion is the purest expression of its commitment to inconvenience. The Capcom-developed mech game is arguably nothing special by itself, but the humongous HOTAS horror with which it came bundled has earned it Xbox immortality. Weighing in at a whopping 17 pounds, boasting three panels, three foot pedals, and industrial-grade divorced dad energy, Steel Battalion is the video game equivalent of \u201crolling coal:\u201d an excessive, magnificent, indulgent peripheral that cost $200 in 2002 money. Xbox is a burly, hefty console that demands a burly, hefty experience, and Steel Battalion more than fits the bill.\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Xbox is still committed to a next-gen console but is considering how it can deliver something that will be desired by Xbox gamers, while not pricing out huge swaths of gamers and potentially growing the audience,&#8221; Harding-Rolls said. &#8220;It\u2019s also thinking about how it can de-risk itself from the costs of subsidising hardware as component costs continue to escalate. There are a few areas I think Xbox could investigate. Xbox has already partnered with Asus to deliver the ROG Xbox Ally, and this could be extended to next-gen console hardware. This sort of OEM arrangement could help with access to components, preferential pricing for storage and memory, flexible configurations of the same platform and extending distribution. This is not a silver bullet and there are already historical examples in the games space where this strategy hasn\u2019t really worked \u2013 such as Valve\u2019s Steam Machines. If this is not the approach the company takes, I think Xbox will be looking to get closer to key component manufacturers to put itself in a better position in terms of supply-chain negotiation and prioritisation. Sony\u2019s long consumer electronics history and its other consumer tech businesses means it is better positioned in this context.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;New business models and partnerships for hardware could mean that Xbox stops trying to be the sole one building the box,&#8221; Elliot agreed. &#8220;Expect third-party manufactured hardware \u2013 partners building Xbox-branded or Xbox-compatible devices under licence \u2013 rather than Microsoft eating the full bill of materials and the subsidy on every unit. The ROG Ally collaboration was the trial balloon for this. And of course mobile is that longer-term North Star. But as for the core, Xbox still wants Helix to converge its console and PC offerings. Windows is the actual platform, and the &#8216;Xbox&#8217; you buy becomes one of several doors into the same ecosystem rather than a single loss-leading box Microsoft fabricates itself. But Xbox is appealing to its console fans along the way as it transitions them into the future. That\u2019s why Helix is half-console, half-PC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t tell tens of millions of console loyalists &#8216;the box is dead, move to Windows&#8217; overnight&#8230;&#8221;<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-428691023\"><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t tell tens of millions of console loyalists &#8216;the box is dead, move to Windows&#8217; overnight without torching the goodwill you just spent 100 days rebuilding \u2013 or potentially pissing off 25-year fans,&#8221; Elliot continued. &#8220;So, Xbox is still shipping hardware and keeping some smaller exclusives to keep the core warm, but the actual centre of gravity is quietly sliding to PC, mobile, and cloud. Helix being half-console, half-PC is that compromise made physical. The word &#8216;Helix&#8217; is most commonly known in biology to describe human DNA, where two intertwined, spiral strands form a twisted ladder. It\u2019s literally in the name \u2013 Xbox is converging console and PC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A focus on third-party hardware seems the most likely route for Xbox following Sharma&#8217;s most recent comments, though other options are also possible. Microsoft could restart its subsidised console purchase plan, which offered access to Xbox machines via an ongoing subscription \u2014 though alternative third-party leasing and payment options now existing make this less likely. The company could also lean into its cloud-streaming offering and re-examine the idea of an Xbox streaming stick. But, as Harding-Rolls points out, &#8220;to stream Xbox games, there still needs to be Xbox hardware in data centres to support this model. One of the key challenges that Xbox is dealing with is storage and memory availability and this doesn\u2019t in fact solve this issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"tierlist-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" id=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\" data-cy=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217\">\n<div><dialog class=\"dialog tier-list-modal jsx-55470089\" aria-labelledby=\"contentLabel\"><\/dialog><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_header__xyy5a\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3647836811 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_title__UxzQx\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon icon-tier-list jsx-2750866048 jsx-1879929830\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-tier-list\" alt=\"Tier List\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/TierList.c19f1c86.svg?cors=0\"><\/p>\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-2321054750 TierListHeader_full__J6p2u\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-957202555 TierListHeader_compact__7JWp1 balanced\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-740175521 fade-in-out\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-12151557 tier-list-skeleton\"><span class=\"stack jsx-659253495 tiers\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_s-tier__uaHwM\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row s-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_s-tier__Jrv1z\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_a-tier__z0Xky\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row a-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_a-tier__EGxbh\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_b-tier__nsZIP\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row b-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_b-tier__aI1S1\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_c-tier__UohGG\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row c-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_c-tier__ivXOD\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier Tier_tier___6egS\">\n<div class=\"TierTitle_title__Q4E_6 TierTitle_d-tier__5Z_iU\">\n<div class=\"interface jsx-326752785 jsx-3004210145 TierTitle_text__xca95 bold break-word\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tier-items-row d-tier TierItems_tier-items-row__q2OSM TierItems_d-tier__fycMA\" style=\"max-height:66px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-1061896584 content\"><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;There&#8217;s a messier possibility worth naming,&#8221; Elliot concludes, &#8220;that the confident language and candour are masking real strategic uncertainty. The clearest evidence is the contradiction sitting inside the comms \u2013 choosing to forgo revenue by pulling games off the biggest install base one week, then lamenting that revenue is too low in the same breath. When you talk out of both sides of your mouth, trust starts to dissolve. The Spencer era had that habit, and the Xbox of new reads like a continuation of it, now with employees being gently primed for another round of layoffs a few months after <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.microsoft.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/20\/asha-sharma-named-evp-and-ceo-microsoft-gaming\/\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Booty said<\/a>: &#8216;To be clear, there are no organisational changes underway for our studios.\u2019 I also note that Xbox said there would be no layoffs after the Activision Blizzard acquisition. There were a lot of layoffs.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;A healthy Xbox is good for all of us, competition included, and they&#8217;re saying a lot of the right things. The candour is real and their diagnosis of the problems are mostly correct. But there\u2019s no easy cure. Trying to be simultaneously the world&#8217;s largest game publisher and a first-party hardware platform, at a 5x component premium, with a first-party slate that can&#8217;t yet carry exclusivity on its own \u2013 that&#8217;s the bit I can&#8217;t make add up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"poll-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217 poll-content-block\" data-cy=\"poll-content-block\">\n<fieldset class=\"answers jsx-332304107\" role=\"radiogroup\" aria-labelledby=\"poll-question\">\n<legend class=\"stack jsx-2624643483 jsx-4192417768\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"><\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"poll-question\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-1377259516 headline\" id=\"poll-question\">What do you most want out of Xbox&#8217;s next-gen Project Helix?<\/h2>\n<p><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" alt aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-4218469134 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1 jsx-3010959690 jsx-2338608387\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/legend>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer highlight\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65281\" id=\"answerId65281-label\"><span class=\"label\">The ability to play my Steam catalog on it.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1945348876\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65282\" id=\"answerId65282-label\"><span class=\"label\">Exclusive games.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65283\" id=\"answerId65283-label\"><span class=\"label\">Powerful hardware.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65284\" id=\"answerId65284-label\"><span class=\"label\">New quality of life features (like Quick Resume).<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65285\" id=\"answerId65285-label\"><span class=\"label\">An affordable price.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"poll-answer\" class=\"jsx-45304670 poll-answer\"><label class=\"interface jsx-326752785 toggle-label jsx-803093603 left-justified radio\" for=\"answerId65286\" id=\"answerId65286-label\"><span class=\"label\">Something else.<\/span><span data-cy=\"left-justified\" class=\"left-justified toggle-wrapper\"><span class=\"icon-toggle-indicator\"><\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-2988246289\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2624643483 jsx-4255654680 poll-controls\"><button class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-2267841559 contained disabled full-width large\" disabled type=\"submit\" data-cy=\"poll-answer-btn\">Answer<\/button><button class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button jsx-3381835873 jsx-1624977611 nav next-button small\" title=\"See Results\" aria-label=\"See Results\" data-cy=\"see-results-btn\"><span style=\"white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;text-align:right\">See Results<\/span><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-4173866675\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" aria-label=\"See Results\" style=\"background:currentColor\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"accent-divider\" class=\"jsx-3449795453 divider jsx-2786329600\"><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Photographer: David Paul Morris\/Bloomberg via Getty Images.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tomphillipseg.bsky.social\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xbox will likely undergo studio shutdowns and consider ad-supported subscription models following newly-installed CEO Asha Sharma&#8217;s blunt warning that a corporate &#8220;reset&#8221; was now necessary, gaming analysts have told IGN. Sharma&#8217;s memo to Xbox employees, subsequently published publicly online, painted an unflinching portrait of the problems facing Microsoft&#8217;s gaming division \u2014 and made it clear [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,243],"class_list":["post-1986571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-ign-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1986571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986571\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1986571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1986571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1986571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}