Satya Nadella, who took over as CEO in February, writes in a new employee letter that "Microsoft will continue to vigorously innovate and delight gamers with Xbox."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said in no uncertain terms that the company has no plans to sell off its Xbox division, but made his vision for the brand clearer in an all-hands email sent to employees (and posted on the web) today. Nadella was installed as CEO of Microsoft in February, and has a strong enterprise background -- leading many to speculate he wouldn't be interested in the Xbox business. The Xbox One console has also so far been lagging behind Sony's PlayStation 4.
However, while Nadella admits that the Xbox business is not part of Microsoft's "core," it's also "important to make smart choices on other businesses in which we can have fundamental impact and success" -- and that's Xbox. "The single biggest digital life category, measured in both time and money spent, in a mobile-first world is gaming. We are fortunate to have Xbox in our family to go after this opportunity with unique and bold innovation," Nadella writes. "Microsoft will continue to vigorously innovate and delight gamers with Xbox."
However, change is coming to the company at large -- Nadella's email promises big shifts in the structure in its workforce, and software developers across the company will be shifted into new jobs and use new methodologies. It's unclear precisely what this email presages, but Nadella seems bent on remaking the company now that he's in charge: "Organizations will change. Mergers and acquisitions will occur. Job responsibilities will evolve. New partnerships will be formed. Tired traditions will be questioned. Our priorities will be adjusted." Microsoft just recently went through a restructuring process prior to former CEO Steve Ballmer's exit. The company appears to have already been reevaluating the structure of its game studios; a recent example of that is layoffs at Rare.
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