What a year this is turning out to be already for Team Xbox! We thought it was going to busy with the 25th anniversary celebrations and the releases of Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved, but we never considered that Phil Spencer would retire and Asha Sharma would take the role of Xbox boss!
A lot has happened in the short time that she’s taken over as well. Project Helix was announced as the next Xbox console, we got our first Xbox Series X|S dashboard update in ages, and reports have suggested she’s supposedly axed the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign and is looking at ways to make console & Game Pass “more enticing”.
In other words, we’re definitely in the midst of a new era already. With that in mind, we thought we’d put together five things that we want to see from Xbox’s new leadership team in 2026 – some of which they’re basically already doing, as well as some new things that hopefully will crop up throughout the year.
Let’s go!
1. Keep Rolling Out New Features & Other Small Wins For Xbox Console Owners
There’s no doubt that some Xbox fans have felt aggrieved by the whole “This is an Xbox” campaign and the lack of attention that’s been paid to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles as a result of it, but that’s all in the past now. It’s been confirmed that Asha Sharma gave the direction to axe the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign, and she’s also been involved in bringing us new console features already.
Earlier this month, the Xbox Series X and S were treated to a brand-new dashboard update that felt like a breath of fresh air for the two systems, introducing multiple new features that were apparently developed in just two weeks. Fans reacted very positively to this on the whole, and the Xbox boss told us all to “keep the feedback coming” in response.
As 2026 rolls on, we’re not necessarily looking for major updates to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, especially with Project Helix taking full focus over at Xbox HQ right now, but these small wins make a big difference every now and again. It was also nice to see a big discount for the Series X recently – here’s hoping we get more of those!
2. New Backwards Compatibility Announcements
We already know that we’re expecting something from Xbox backwards compatibility in 2026, but the big question is what it’ll be. Many people are hoping for new additions to the program on console from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras, but that’s not set in stone yet by any means – there have been suggestions that Microsoft might be bringing Xbox backwards compatibility titles to PC, for example.
In any case, we’ve all seen the excitement that’s been generated by a small tease at GDC a few weeks ago, and therefore it’s evident that Xbox fans are very keen to see anything backwards compatibility related in 2026. We’re definitely hopeful of some brand-new additions to the program, especially considering how Activision Blizzard was not part of Xbox when new backwards compatibility titles stopped being added in late 2021.
How about some old Crash Bandicoot or Spyro games? What about Skylanders? Maybe Transformers? Activision has a ton of classic Xbox titles that would be very well-received as part of backwards compatibility, but the obvious hurdle relates to licensing and potential performance issues. Here’s hoping they’ve found a way to deal with it.
3. Be Clear & Transparent With Messaging, Avoid Vague Statements Where Possible
Since Asha Sharma took the role of Xbox boss a few weeks ago, one of the requests we’ve seen from Xbox fans is some kind of public address about where Xbox is heading in the future and essentially what they can expect as Xbox owners going forward. To her credit, the Xbox boss has already been talking about this in some detail – discussing the importance of console, a desire to “return to our roots“, and how it’s important to “break down barriers” so developers can reach players across multiple platforms with just one build of a game.
That’s all good stuff, and we can’t expect anything more from the Microsoft Gaming CEO right now considering she’s so new to the role, but we’re still a little bit scarred by some of the vague statements of the past few years. The whole thing around exclusives, for example, felt like Microsoft was trying to dance around the inevitable conclusion that more and more games would be shipping on other platforms, and therefore it constantly felt like a shock (in a negative way to some) when the likes of Indiana Jones and even Starfield were announced for PS5.
They kinda did this with the backwards compatibility reveal the other week as well. Yes, it was a fun tease thrown into a GDC presentation, but by mentioning that they’ll “roll out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past”, it’s such a vague statement that everyone interprets it differently. That could work in their favour if they have major announcements planned, but if it’s only for PC rather than console, for example, some Xbox fans will inevitibly be disappointed because of how they read into the vague statement.
So, yeah… teases are definitely welcome, but be careful with them. On the whole, we just want as much clear and transparent messaging from Team Xbox as possible, and that’ll give us the trust to know exactly where we stand as Xbox fans heading into the rest of 2026 and the next few years.
4. Try New Things, Have Some Fun, And Don’t Be Afraid To Lean Into Nostalgia Either
Despite what anyone might think about the whole “This is an Xbox” campaign, it was born out of a need to adapt to the times and support more players across more platforms as effectively as possible. The marketing itself might have fallen flat, but the program has given us some great new initiatives, especially when it comes to the likes of Xbox Play Anywhere, the ROG Xbox Ally, and being able to switch between Xbox and PC seamlessly.
All of this came from trying new things, as did Xbox Game Pass and Xbox backwards compatibility back in the day. Asha Sharma and Team Xbox will obviously make mistakes now and again, but must continue to innovate in order to move forward. We just hope there’s fun involved in the process – it was mentioned by one developer recently how they were “energised” by working on the new Series X and Series S features, and that’s great to hear!
That doesn’t mean they can’t lean into nostalgia in the process though. Sharma’s recent tweet about the Xbox 360 “Blades” dashboard got a ton of attention, and we’ve seen demand in the past for some kind of classic console that plays original Xbox and 360 games. Neither of those might come to fruition, but the point remains that embracing the past with retro-inspired new features (especially for Xbox 25th’s anniversary) could work a treat.
5. A Big Xbox Summer Showcase & 25th Anniversary Celebration!
Both of these have likely been in the plans for a long time now, but we can’t go without mentioning that we definitely want to see a big Xbox Games Showcase and 25th anniversary celebration in 2026!
Xbox has been great with these summer showcases in recent years, and even though there’s been some turbulence with Phil Spencer leaving and Asha Sharma arriving, we assume there’s a dedicated team working in the background to make sure the Xbox Game Showcase 2026 will be something special once again. They’ve certainly got a few amazing games to lean on in the form of Fable, Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Again, the 25th anniversary celebration has probably been in the works since last year, and we’re very intrigued to see what they’ll do for it. There’s a chance they may try to spread things out more evenly during the latter part of 2026, instead of pushing everything to the exact date of November 15th considering GTA 6 is set to release four days later, but in any case, it’s going to be fun marking such an important milestone for the Xbox brand.
Perhaps we’ll get a first look at Project Helix on the day of the 25th anniversary?! Make it happen, Microsoft!
So, those are five things we want to see from Xbox’s leadership team in 2026, but what about you? What would you add to this list? Is there anything glaring that we’ve missed off in your opinion? Tell us down in the comments!
How are you feeling about Xbox’s new leadership after a month? We’d love to hear from you down below.
