Microsoft Gaming is officially dropping that name and returning to simply being Xbox. According to a report from Destructoid, CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty released a joint statement today announcing the rebrand alongside a defined set of 10 ideals the company plans to operate by going forward.
The move is a deliberate step away from the recent "This is an Xbox" marketing push, which drew mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. The new leadership appears to be betting that reconnecting with the Xbox identity - rather than the broader Microsoft Gaming umbrella - will help rebuild trust with a core audience that has felt increasingly alienated over the past few console generations.
A statement of intent
The joint statement from Sharma and Booty reads as a kind of manifesto, laying out the philosophical direction the team wants to take the brand. Rather than broad corporate language, the 10 ideals framework suggests leadership is trying to give Xbox a clearer, more grounded identity both internally and publicly.
This kind of cultural realignment is significant. Xbox has faced sustained criticism around game cancellations, studio closures, and a perceived lack of compelling exclusive titles - all of which have made it harder to justify the platform to fence-sitters. A rebrand alone won't fix any of that, but it does signal that new leadership recognizes the problem.
What this means for players
For everyday gamers, the immediate impact is mostly cosmetic - the Microsoft Gaming name was always more of a corporate designation than something players interacted with daily. The bigger question is whether the 10 ideals Sharma and Booty have outlined translate into tangible changes in how Xbox develops, markets, and releases games.
Sharma is relatively new to the CEO role, and this statement appears to be her first major public positioning of where she wants to take the brand. Paired with Booty's content focus, it's a pairing that at least has the right pieces in place - assuming the strategy is backed by strong first-party output, which remains the brand's most pressing challenge.
Xbox has been here before - big promises, bold resets, and renewed energy that doesn't always survive contact with a release calendar. Whether "We are Xbox" becomes a genuine turning point or just another memorable tagline remains to be seen.
