Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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At Summer Game Fest today, Xbox’s new chief strategy officer Matthew Ball spoke about some of the company’s big moves recently, including its strategy on exclusives and what’s next for the company in the hardware space with Project Helix. He made these comments at The Game Business Live.
“Reliable pipeline” of exclusives
On the subject of exclusives, Ball said, “Everyone in the industry understands that exclusives are important,” and Microsoft is no different. The first two console exclusives that Microsoft announced at the Xbox Games Showcase were Gears of War: E-Day this October and Clockwork Revolution in 2027.
Ball said Xbox players can expect a “reliable pipeline” of Xbox-exclusives that “validates their historical investment” in the Xbox platform and keeps them there.
Microsoft’s major live-service multiplayer games, like Call of Duty, will continue to be multiplatform releases going forward, he said. Additionally, titles that were previously announced for non-Xbox platforms will still come to those platforms because of previously agreed-upon plans, Ball said. Also during the talk, Ball discussed how Xbox Game Pass lost “millions” of subscribers in the period of a few months after the dramatic 50% price hike was announced in October 2025. Microsoft slashed the price of Game Pass Ultimate down to $23/month (from $30/month) after Sharma became Xbox CEO, but Ball said the price is still higher than where it was this time last year ($20/month). The value of the offering has now changed, he said, referring to how new Call of Duty titles are no longer included on day one, and the changes to Game Pass this year are so far “resonating” with users, he said. Matthew Ball (Xbox chief strategy officer) said that Xbox Game Pass lost "millions" of subscribers in the period of a few months after the 50% price hike announced in Oct 2025 Demand for Xbox consoles is currently outstripping supply
Matthew Ball - “We are producing them as quickly as possible. These is a severe limitation to how quickly we can do that, but it’s not a question of appetite. That is a prilvege as a company. It is a challenge for us to figure out."
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At Summer Game Fest today, Xbox’s new chief strategy officer Matthew Ball spoke about some of the company’s big moves recently, including its strategy on exclusives and what’s next for the company in the hardware space with Project Helix. He made these comments at The Game Business Live.
“Reliable pipeline” of exclusives
On the subject of exclusives, Ball said, “Everyone in the industry understands that exclusives are important,” and Microsoft is no different. The first two console exclusives that Microsoft announced at the Xbox Games Showcase were Gears of War: E-Day this October and Clockwork Revolution in 2027.
Ball said Xbox players can expect a “reliable pipeline” of Xbox-exclusives that “validates their historical investment” in the Xbox platform and keeps them there.
Microsoft’s major live-service multiplayer games, like Call of Duty, will continue to be multiplatform releases going forward, he said. Additionally, titles that were previously announced for non-Xbox platforms will still come to those platforms because of previously agreed-upon plans, Ball said. Also during the talk, Ball discussed how Xbox Game Pass lost “millions” of subscribers in the period of a few months after the dramatic 50% price hike was announced in October 2025. Microsoft slashed the price of Game Pass Ultimate down to $23/month (from $30/month) after Sharma became Xbox CEO, but Ball said the price is still higher than where it was this time last year ($20/month). The value of the offering has now changed, he said, referring to how new Call of Duty titles are no longer included on day one, and the changes to Game Pass this year are so far “resonating” with users, he said. Matthew Ball (Xbox chief strategy officer) said that Xbox Game Pass lost "millions" of subscribers in the period of a few months after the 50% price hike announced in Oct 2025 Demand for Xbox consoles is currently outstripping supply
Matthew Ball - “We are producing them as quickly as possible. These is a severe limitation to how quickly we can do that, but it’s not a question of appetite. That is a prilvege as a company. It is a challenge for us to figure out."
