Xbox still faces a long road back to the top after several difficult years. Microsoft’s gaming division is going through one of the toughest periods in its history and needs decisive action to maintain its place in the industry and regain momentum.

That is the mission of Asha Sharma, the current head of Microsoft’s gaming business. A leaked internal strategy reveals the company’s ambitious medium- and long-term goals for the years ahead.

Xbox’s roadmap for growth through 2030 has reportedly leaked

According to an internal communication obtained by The Verge, Sharma told employees that Xbox’s primary objective is to return to growth in both player numbers and revenue before the end of fiscal year 2027, which concludes in June next year.

Beyond restoring growth, Sharma said Xbox also aims to improve profitability to levels comparable with the industry average. To achieve this, every division of the company, including its game development studios, will be directly responsible for meeting these goals.

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Xbox’s 4 priorities for fiscal year 2027 and its 3-stage strategy

As part of the plan, the company has established four key pillars that will guide its decisions throughout the next fiscal year:

  • Console: Strengthen the Xbox platform, with hardware serving as the company’s core foundation.
  • Content: Turn Xbox’s biggest games into globally recognized entertainment franchises.
  • Creation: Make Minecraft the world’s leading platform for creativity and user-generated content.
  • Connection: Expand and deepen the universes of players’ favorite franchises.

Using these pillars as its foundation, Microsoft’s gaming business plans to grow in three phases.

The first stage focuses on returning Xbox to growth before the end of fiscal year 2027. During fiscal years 2028 and 2029, the company intends to transform investments in these four pillars into businesses that deliver greater value to players while accelerating revenue growth.

The final phase will concentrate on scaling the initiatives that prove most successful. Sharma’s long-term vision is to reach the halfway point toward Xbox’s ambitious goal of 1 billion daily active players, while maintaining double-digit growth in both user engagement and revenue, alongside industry-leading profit margins.

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What’s next for Xbox Game Studios?

The leaked document also mentions a major reorganization of Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft plans to move away from its decentralized structure and instead focus resources on its most valuable intellectual properties and largest-scale projects.

As part of this strategy, Xbox will develop long-term plans for its biggest franchises, expanding them into films, television series, consumer products, sponsorships, live experiences, and new international partnerships, including a stronger presence in China.

Finally, the report claims that three Xbox franchises already generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue, although Microsoft did not specify which series have reached that miles