Microsoft has reacted to a report that said the company is pushing Xbox to make more profit. In a statement to CNBC, the company said it has ambitious profit goals, but the specific 30% profit-margin figure was not correct. The statement was paraphrased and not attributed to any specific person at Microsoft, and GameSpot has followed up with Microsoft in an attempt to get more information.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft pushed the Xbox team to increase profit margins starting in 2023, with the goal of rising to 30% (up from 12% in 2022). The industry average for profit margins is likely between 17% and 22%, analysts said in the Bloomberg piece.
According to the report, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood implemented the new goals, and her team has "taken a larger role" in the company's gaming business recently.
The Xbox team undertook efforts to make more money in 2025, including raising Xbox console prices, hiking Game Pass membership costs, and releasing more of its games on rival platforms. Microsoft also laid off lots of people, canceled games, and closed studios. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said these cuts had to happen because of capitalism.
Microsoft was also planning to charge $80 for new games this year, but canceled those plans. Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said the Xbox team needs to run a "healthy business," but this doesn't necessarily mean increases beyond $70 for new games.
"From our point of view, monetization just happens in so many different ways right now. So we're going to continue to listen to the feedback from fans. We're going to continue, to balance that with needing to run the healthy business. But right now, on the content side, we don't have any pricing updates," he said.
Next year is poised to be a big one for Microsoft, as 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox and Halo. It's also the 40th anniversary of Bethesda, the 35th anniversary of Blizzard, and the 30th anniversary of the original Diablo. Some are expecting Microsoft to also divulge new information about the company's new console in 2026, but that remains to be seen.
Microsoft will host an Xbox Developer Direct event in January 2026 where it will show off some of what's coming to Xbox in 2026, but not everything.
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Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft pushed the Xbox team to increase profit margins starting in 2023, with the goal of rising to 30% (up from 12% in 2022). The industry average for profit margins is likely between 17% and 22%, analysts said in the Bloomberg piece.
According to the report, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood implemented the new goals, and her team has "taken a larger role" in the company's gaming business recently.
The Xbox team undertook efforts to make more money in 2025, including raising Xbox console prices, hiking Game Pass membership costs, and releasing more of its games on rival platforms. Microsoft also laid off lots of people, canceled games, and closed studios. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said these cuts had to happen because of capitalism.
Microsoft was also planning to charge $80 for new games this year, but canceled those plans. Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said the Xbox team needs to run a "healthy business," but this doesn't necessarily mean increases beyond $70 for new games.
"From our point of view, monetization just happens in so many different ways right now. So we're going to continue to listen to the feedback from fans. We're going to continue, to balance that with needing to run the healthy business. But right now, on the content side, we don't have any pricing updates," he said.
Next year is poised to be a big one for Microsoft, as 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox and Halo. It's also the 40th anniversary of Bethesda, the 35th anniversary of Blizzard, and the 30th anniversary of the original Diablo. Some are expecting Microsoft to also divulge new information about the company's new console in 2026, but that remains to be seen.
Microsoft will host an Xbox Developer Direct event in January 2026 where it will show off some of what's coming to Xbox in 2026, but not everything.
Source