Microsoft CEO Nadella Calls Xbox Streamlining 'Great to See'

Did you hear what Microsoft's CEO said about all those Xbox layoffs? In a recent podcast appearance, Satya Nadella called the team streamlining "great to see" — and that's raising some eyebrows.

Let's rewind. Xbox's big restructuring kicked off in July with 1,600 layoffs. Since then, Halo Studios has been severely diminished, World's Edge was cut in half, and Ninja Theory might be on the chopping block. Oblivion now reports to Bethesda, Turn 10 and Playground are one, and Activision is developing the next Halo. It's been a lot, to say the least.

But Nadella? He's feeling good. On Alex Heath's Sources Podcast, he said he feels "fantastic about the IP we have right now. If I look at the studios, the IP portfolio we have, and our ability to then take that and produce great games going forward, I feel fantastic." He also commented on Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's resetting of the division: "There's some amount of streamlining the team is doing, and Asha is doing, which is great to see."

According to Nadella, the next step is to "invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to deliver gaming to more and more people," which has "always been the goal." He added, "We want to be a great publisher and a great platform provider for games, across both PCs and Xboxes. That is sort of our goal, and I think Asha and team have said that Xbox is gonna get back to growth this next fiscal year, and that's the plan they're executing on, and in that process do a bang-up job of producing some great games."

Sounds optimistic, right? But the reality is messier. Xbox is still dealing with declining hardware revenue, memory shortages that could affect Project Helix, and price hikes. Plus, the return to exclusives with Gears of War: E-Day this October and Clockwork Revolution in 2027 is a bold move — especially with Gears' big budget adding extra pressure to perform.

In the meantime, Xbox is likely hedging its bets on Call of Duty, particularly with Modern Warfare 4 on the horizon. That one's looking better than past entries and launches October 23rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and — for the first time ever — Nintendo Switch 2.

So, what do you think? Is Nadella's confidence justified, or is Xbox in for a bumpy ride? Let us know in the comments.