Xbox CEO lays out billion-player roadmap as Blizzard emerges as the division's top studio

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has shared an internal memo outlining how Microsoft's gaming division plans to claw back growth after a rough fiscal year — and leaked emails reveal that Blizzard Entertainment is currently carrying the most weight inside that plan.

The numbers are stark. Xbox revenue dropped 7% in FY2026, roughly $1.7 billion, while every other major Microsoft division posted year-over-year gains. The division currently reaches 100 million people daily, 500 million monthly, and nearly 1 billion annually. Sharma's memo sets a target of 500 million daily players by FY2030 — the halfway point toward her stated long-term goal of over a billion — with sustained double-digit growth in players and engagement and industry-leading margins. She expects Xbox to return to growth by the end of FY2027. Her four strategic pillars are Core (strengthen the platform, led by console), Content (grow games into global franchises), Creation (make Minecraft the world's creator platform), and Connection (extend the worlds fans love). Xbox already has three franchises generating over $1 billion annually — understood to be Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Candy Crush — and Sharma wants all three to grow further alongside franchises like Fallout and Halo. Long-term plans will span film, TV, consumer products, live experiences, sponsorships, and expanded activity in China.

The restructure behind all this is brutal. Sharma has already cut 1,600 Xbox staff, with another 1,600 to follow before the end of the financial year, totalling 3,200 jobs. Five studios are being divested, and the development model is shifting away from decentralisation toward a tighter focus on the strongest franchises. Console remains the foundation — it generates the majority of Xbox revenue — though the next-generation system, Project Helix, is reportedly facing cost pressures that could push its price north of $1,000. Xbox ended FY2026 with a 3% internal margin, compared to roughly 10% for Sony and 16% for Nintendo. Against that backdrop, Blizzard stands out. According to leaked emails from Blizzard president Johanna Faries reported by Windows Central, the studio finished FY2026 as the top-performing studio in Xbox's division and recorded its third-highest year for top-line revenue in Blizzard's history. FY2025 and FY2026 marked the studio's first back-to-back years of growth since FY2017. The two drivers were Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred — the second expansion for the 2023 action-RPG, which launched in April — and Overwatch, which posted its strongest quarter since 2022.

Faries said Blizzcon 2026, scheduled for September 12–13, should "serve as a powerful springboard into a new era of momentum," though no specific announcements have been made. Speculation around a StarCraft shooter and a follow-up to World of Warcraft Classic continues to swirl. For Xbox as a whole, the road back is long — Sharma herself acknowledged that "our business did not grow with our audience" in FY2026, despite more than 200 million new players joining during the year. Closing that gap is the central challenge of the next four years.