The Xbox’s big twist is hedging everything on gamers’ nostalgia

Xbox wants players to feel like « Xbox gamers » again. To do that, the company behind the big green « X » needs to win back all the gamers it lost in its mindless quest for game subscriptions. Knowing today’s gamers and their longing for a simpler and less anti-consumer era of gaming, this might be Xbox’s best and only bet.

On Thursday, Xbox’s new CEO, Asha Sharma, and Chief Content Officer, Matt Booty, released an internal memo they had sent to Xbox staff. The letter reveals that the « Microsoft Gaming » brand is now just « Xbox » again. Breaking away from Microsoft is a smart play. It is the last fully consumer-focused brand of the technology monolith. Microsoft’s broader portfolio looks like a Charlie Kelly conspiracy board for government (and military), B2B and AI contracts.

The previous Xbox leadership under Phil Spencer spent the last few years letting the Xbox Series S and Series X slip into obscurity. In 2026, Xbox’s new goal is to put gamers’ asses in places, and that means a return to « Gen 9 » consoles.

In an interview with gaming journalist Stephen Totillo, Sharma said, « We’re reinvesting in (Xbox Series S/X) as a premium experience and we want to make sure that all the players who want to be on Gen 9 are on Gen 9 with a great console with regular updates. » According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, these updates could come every two weeks.

Xbox head Asha Sharma also mentioned during yesterday’s meeting that teams are meeting daily on Project Helix and that there will also be updates to the Xbox Series S/X console every two weeks until the end of the year. The reinvestment in the Xbox OS is very interesting.

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) April 24, 2026

The Xbox Series X now starts at $600 for the digital edition, $150 more than it was in 2020. The console is equivalent to the PlayStation 5 after the recent price hike. Before and after the apocalyptic price changes in 2025, the Xbox was trailing the PS5 in console sales. Sharma told Totillo that he « wants to see the Xbox (division) return to growth next year. » Part of this new push is a cheaper Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The price drop drew praise from gamers, even if it sacrificed the chance to play Call of Duty titles on launch day.

The sky-high costs of the Series S/X will not help restore growth. The $900 PlayStation 5 Pro with the updated upscaling software is currently the most powerful console you can buy outside of PCs. With Project Helix on the horizon and a future launch in 2027, few gamers would want to buy a last-gen console that costs more than it did on launch day. So it will come down to sales of games and peripherals. Sharma and Booty were specific that they are still doing an internal cost-benefit analysis of console exclusivity. To achieve growth, let alone profitability, they need more gamers to engage, specifically more Daily Active Users, or DAUs.

Xbox doesn’t need new players; it needs old players

In fact, Sharma wants players who played on Xbox to come back. Word of mouth matters a lot in gaming environments when the margins are so thin. That’s why Sharma and Booty mentioned new accessories and peripherals for existing Series X players. Microsoft’s gaming division now has a team that focuses on the player experience. The group recently added new visual and sound effects to achievements. Reminding players of the original pop-ups and rare achievement celebrations on their Xbox 360 is like a shot of nostalgic dopamine right in the vein.

You can see this nostalgia play clearly in the redesigned Xbox logo. Instead of a boring white X on a black background, the new version is bathed in a green neon color that instantly brings to mind the original nuclear-toned special edition halo Xbox console.

We are Xbox pic.twitter.com/tJs10kGLwn

— Xbox (@Xbox) April 23, 2026

Sharma – despite being criticized for his lack of gaming experience when he first came in – has reached this point after less than two months on the job. She said all the right things to get Xbox fans excited again. We just have to wait and see if the company will deliver on its promises.