Xbox's New Head Of Strategy Still Believes In Gaming Consoles

Xbox is pursuing a multiplatform strategy while reassuring fans that console gaming is still important and growing. Matthew Ball, newly in Xbox leadership, emphasizes reviving storied franchises and strengthening the console business. He frames the work as compelling for a long-time gamer with deep personal memories tied to Halo and Gears of War. Halo and Gears were major drivers in the Xbox 360 era, but their momentum has weakened in later generations. Halo Infinite received praise but did not fully deliver, and post-launch support ended as its multiplayer gained renewed interest. Gears of War has also faced long gaps between major releases. Upcoming releases in 2026 include Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day, with platform details still uncertain for some audiences.

"Console gaming remains “important, durable, and still growing.” Matthew Ball shared that belief in early comments after joining Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s leadership team, positioning his focus on reviving storied franchises and strengthening Xbox’s console business. He described the mission as “irresistible” given his long-time gamer background, including “thousands of memories in specific basements” playing Halo and Gears of War."

"Both of those franchises dominated during the Xbox 360 era as Microsoft spearheaded the growth of online multiplayer gaming in the console space, but have seen their popularity erode in the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S generations. Halo Infinite was great but not a slam dunk, and Microsoft puled the plug on post-launch support just when its standalone multiplayer version was catching a second wind. Meanwhile, it's been nearly seven years since Gears 5 released, despite an entire trilogy of games coming out in a similar time period during the Xbox 360 years."

"2026 will be a year full of tests for these and other classic Xbox franchises. Halo: Campaign Evolved will bring Master Chief to PlayStation for the first time and kickstart the sci-fi shooter's Unreal Engine era. Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel that goes back to the characters players originally fell in love with. It hasn't yet been confirmed for PS5, and many fans are hoping it will come to Xbox first or remain entirely exclusive and mark a shift away from Microsoft's recent multiplatform experiment."

Read at Kotaku