Xbox Makes First Game Pass Lineup Announcement Following Layoffs — and CEO Asha Sharma's Admission That Microsoft's Gaming Strategy Failed to Work Out

Microsoft has announced the July lineup of games for Game Pass in its first announcement following the layoffs that ripped through the Xbox business yesterday.

CEO Asha Sharma cut 1,600 staff from Xbox yesterday, with another 1,600 staff to go over the course of the next 12 months. Four studios have left Microsoft as part of the restructure, which Sharma called the “most significant in Xbox history.”

Explaining the cuts, Sharma admitted that Microsoft’s gaming strategy had failed, and a key part of that failure had to do with Game Pass. The Wall Street Journal said that Microsoft had expected Game Pass subscriptions to hit around 77 million this year, but it currently has only about 30 million. As revealed during the FTC vs Microsoft trial of 2023, Microsoft had hoped for 100 million subscribers by 2030, which seems very unlikely at this stage.

The 100 Best Xbox Games of All TimeWhat is an Xbox? Microsoft has spent 25 years trying to answer the question, but for fans, the answer is easy: “Xbox” evokes one-eared headsets wired into the memory card slots of massive controllers with breakaway cords. A dashboard with gleaming skeuomorphic blades and avatars adorned in earned accessories. That sound that plays when a hard-earned Achievement finally pops. “Xbox” means heavy-duty hardware. Tactile sensations. Friends connecting for the first time. And that’s before we even get to the games.<br><br> It may be that the very idea of an Xbox game is coming to an end. Microsoft has undeniably shifted its tactics, with a new focus on multi-platform releases, handheld Xboxes that are actually miniature Windows computers, and the potential that future Xbox consoles may simply be gaming PCs. So now seems as good a time as any to look back at the entire history of Microsoft’s console journey and rank the best Xbox games, with help from our friends at Outside Xbox, the multimillion-subscriber channel that serves up weekly videos about video games and video game-adjacent things<br><br> When we say “the best Xbox games,” we mean the ones that most evoke that weighty sense of “Xboxness.” Some are first-party, most are exclusives, and all of them are indelibly tied to the legacy of and fondness for a platform that’s left a massive mark on gaming. These are the 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time. We'll be updating this list daily with 25 games at 7am PST/10am ET/3pm GMT from Tuesday, 20th January to Friday, 23rd January, until number one is revealed.<br><br>

“Our business today is not healthy,” Sharma said. “We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset Xbox.”

Amid questions about the future of Game Pass and its importance to Xbox, Microsoft has announced what subscribers can expect during the first half of this month. There are some big names in here, from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+ 2 to Palworld 1.0 (Palworld is already in Game Pass, but its 1.0 launch is set for July 10).

Available today, July 6, is 2.5D action Metroidvania Winds of Arcana: Ruination (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) across Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. The only day one title is Ascend to Zero (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, and PC), which hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on July 13.

There is no mention of any of the cuts or studio exists in Microsoft's Xbox Wire post announcing the Game Pass lineup.

Xbox Game Pass July 2026 Wave 1 lineup:Gears of War: Reloaded (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – July 9 Now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game PassTamashika (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – July 9 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game PassAscend to Zero (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – July 13 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassPBA Pro Bowling 2026 (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, and PC) – July 14 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game PassQuarantine Zone: The Last Check (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, and PC) – July 15 Now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game PassMavrix by Matt Jones (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – July 16 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game PassFixForce (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, and PC) – July 17 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game PassFogpiercer (PC) – July 17 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassThe Planet Crafter (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, and PC) – July 21 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game PassTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 21 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game PassXbox Game Pass titles leaving July 15Dungeons of Hinterberg (Cloud, Console, and PC)EA Sports Football Club 24 (Cloud, Console, and PC)Stellaris (Cloud, Console, and PC)Golf With Your Friends (Cloud, Console, and PC)Minami Lane (Cloud, Console, and PC)Powerwash Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)Shadow of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC)Splitgate: Arena Reloaded (Cloud, Console, and PC)Super Fantasy Kingdom (Game Preview) (PC)Techtonica (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

format_indent_decrease
AI Article