Microsoft's gaming unit is experiencing new winds, as it has extensively renewed the leadership of its gaming unit.
Within a week, the first concrete changes have been seen regarding what the change in leadership means in practice.
Firstly, a few years ago, the gaming unit changed its name to Microsoft Gaming, but now that name is being abandoned. The original name will return, meaning the entire gaming unit will simply be named Xbox.
Microsoft had already announced how the price of the Xbox Game Pass monthly subscription would be significantly lowered. The company had drastically increased the price of Game Pass last autumn, which has apparently been very poorly received by players.
Now, a significant step back is being taken, as the price of the most expensive Ultimate subscription drops from $29.99/€26.99 euros/month to $22.99/€20.99/month. At the same time, however, future versions of the Call of Duty game series will no longer arrive on Game Pass immediately, but only almost a year after release.
But perhaps the most interesting is the message published by the new leaders of the Xbox unit, message to the gaming community.
In the message, the leadership openly admits that "players are frustrated" and that messages from players about what is wrong with Microsoft's gaming strategy and Xbox's development have been taken seriously.
One of the changes already made was the price reduction, but the leadership promises to focus on improving elements perceived as frustrating in Xbox, such as the user interface, search, and the overall console experience.
In March, the first details were also revealed about the upcoming, next-generation Xbox console, which currently goes by the codename Project Helix.
At the same time, global sales of Xbox consoles have fallen to a very dismal level. According to VGChartz's latest statistics, only 140,000 Xbox units were sold in March 2026, while 1.7 million units of Nintendo Switch 2 were sold, and over a million units of Playstation 5 were sold as well.
Firstly, a few years ago, the gaming unit changed its name to Microsoft Gaming, but now that name is being abandoned. The original name will return, meaning the entire gaming unit will simply be named Xbox.
Microsoft had already announced how the price of the Xbox Game Pass monthly subscription would be significantly lowered. The company had drastically increased the price of Game Pass last autumn, which has apparently been very poorly received by players.
Now, a significant step back is being taken, as the price of the most expensive Ultimate subscription drops from $29.99/€26.99 euros/month to $22.99/€20.99/month. At the same time, however, future versions of the Call of Duty game series will no longer arrive on Game Pass immediately, but only almost a year after release.
But perhaps the most interesting is the message published by the new leaders of the Xbox unit, message to the gaming community.
In the message, the leadership openly admits that "players are frustrated" and that messages from players about what is wrong with Microsoft's gaming strategy and Xbox's development have been taken seriously.
One of the changes already made was the price reduction, but the leadership promises to focus on improving elements perceived as frustrating in Xbox, such as the user interface, search, and the overall console experience.
In March, the first details were also revealed about the upcoming, next-generation Xbox console, which currently goes by the codename Project Helix.
At the same time, global sales of Xbox consoles have fallen to a very dismal level. According to VGChartz's latest statistics, only 140,000 Xbox units were sold in March 2026, while 1.7 million units of Nintendo Switch 2 were sold, and over a million units of Playstation 5 were sold as well.
