Xbox CEO Wants to Reach 1 Billion People Per Day, But is That Even Possible?

Xbox has been in the news a lot lately, and not for good reasons. CEO Asha Sharma released a statement about Xbox's current state and her hopes for the future of the platform, including its PC and mobile counterparts, saying that they need a reset and are operating at much lower margins compared to similar publishers.

The highlight of Sharma's statement comes at the end, which is where she states that she wants Xbox to be a company that entertains more than a billion people each day and "gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect." I can't stop thinking about the end of this statement from Sharma, especially when Xbox just took away the opportunity to create for the 3,000 people who were laid off.

No Platform Will Entertain Over 1 Billion People Soon

According to Worldometer, there are about 8.3 billion people in the world right now. This means that Sharma wants one-eighth of the entire population on Xbox every day, whether that's through an Xbox console, or Xbox app on PC and mobile. Even if you look beyond gaming into streaming services, none are close to reaching a billion subscribers.

Looking at Steam, which can cater to many more players than Xbox right now given its massive catalog and the availability of simpler games able to run on less powerful computers, as well as the Steam Deck providing a handheld option, the peak concurrent player count for July 10 reached just under 40 million. Sharma wants to reach 25 times that number each day with Xbox's content, which I find difficult to comprehend when Xbox just hasn't had much to offer that's able to compete with other platforms like Steam.

It doesn't help that the most iconic Xbox franchises have fallen off over the years. Halo hasn't had a game that matched the quality of the series' earliest entries, which were enough to make purchasing an Xbox worth the money. I remember buying an Xbox One when it came out purely for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but looking at the exclusives now, I don't see anything that's worth buying an entire console for, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The increases in console prices, which aren't unique to Xbox right now, but definitely aren't helping their situation, make it even more difficult to justify buying a console for a handful of games you might like.

Who's Going to Make the Content Meant to Reach 1 Billion People Daily?

Aside from it just not being possible at this time for Xbox or any other entertainment platform to reach a billion people a day, Xbox isn't exactly investing in a way that reflects that future goal. Recent days have been an awful time for developers and studios connected to Xbox as cuts have left thousands of people without a job. Even successful studios haven't been spared, as IO Interactive still had to deal with cuts despite the success of 007 First Light.

With that in mind, Sharma's goal for the brand becomes increasingly farfetched. If you want to entertain a billion people daily, you need content with which to do so. In theory, cutting down the number of studios makes sense, but it makes less sense when you cut those that have had recent successes and those that have upcoming games that players are excited about, such as cutting Ninja Theory after revealing the upcoming Senua game.

I have to imagine that this statement about Xbox's reset and goal to reach a billion people each day, which doesn't sound any less impossible no matter how many times I see it, is meant for investors who aren't following the gaming industry beyond stocks and the numbers on the bottom line. Otherwise, it would make more sense to invest in studios and developers to give them the tools they need to succeed, as their success then translates into success for their parent company.

Now, on top of a lack of exclusive games that make buying a console not worth the price, Xbox is losing players' trust. Prices are going up, studios are being cut, and other platforms, such as Steam, simply offer more. I plan on picking up a Nintendo Switch 2 as my next console despite being primarily a PC player, as the Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake is worth it for me, and the price increases come with advanced notice while being as limited as the company can manage. As for Xbox, I don't think I'll be purchasing one in the near future.