Microsoft Has Considered ‘Spinning Out Or Restructuring’ Xbox, Claims Report

You can’t have a quiet Friday night in the world of Xbox these days, can you?!

Out of nowhere, the folks over at The Information are reporting today that Microsoft has considered “spinning out or restructuring” the Xbox brand, although it’s not something that’s said to be imminent (in other words, it might not happen). The report mentions how multiple options haven’t been “ruled out”, including turning Xbox into a wholly-owned subsidiary or creating a “joint venture with other partners”.

The article is paywalled, but here are a couple of key quotes from it:

“As Microsoft gets ready to overhaul its struggling Xbox gaming unit, it hasn’t ruled out spinning out or restructuring the unit as a wholly-owned subsidiary, which could make it easier to sell, or creating a joint venture with other partners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Microsoft doesn’t have any imminent restructuring plans, but those options are on the table, the people said.”

“Microsoft operates LinkedIn and GitHub as wholly owned subsidiaries, which could serve as one potential blueprint for Xbox, one of the people said.”

For those who aren’t quite sure what “spinning out” or “wholly-owned subsidiary” means, it hints at the idea of turning Xbox into its own company – one that either has Microsoft’s full ownership (the wholly-owned part), or one that doesn’t. For comparison’s sake, Sony Interactive Entertainment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

In the same report, it’s mentioned how Xbox plans to spend more and “move faster” on new games from “beloved franchises” in the next fiscal year beginning in July, with examples including Halo, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.

Obviously this is all just reported information based on a few sources, so take it with a pinch of salt. Maybe we’ll get a follow-up from Asha Sharma, Matt Booty or even Satya Nadella with clarification at some point in the near future.