Xbox Wants Faster Fallout, Elder Scrolls Games to Bolster Business

It’s hard to believe it’s been just one week since the Xbox Showcase, as Microsoft’s gaming division has been battered over the past few days – with CEO Satya Nadella being one of the people sticking in the boot.

Speaking at Hard Fork Live, the Microsoft executive said it must turn Xbox into a “sustainable business” following 25-years of investment, suggesting the division has been operating in the red for some time now.

In a staggering statement, he jibed “there's more monetisation of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft”, joking that the streamers playing its software are making more money than the company itself.

Earlier this week, a Windows Central report revealed that despite PS5 ports, the vast majority of the Redmond firm’s releases have underperformed. According to Bloomberg, “significant layoffs” are expected at the end of the month.

Now a report from The Information (paywalled) claims Microsoft “hasn’t ruled out spinning out or restructuring the unit as a wholly-owned subsidiary, which could make it easier to sell”.

It’s worth underlining that the article does say there are no “imminent restructuring plans” but that “those options are on the table”.

As new boss Asha Sharma works to clean up the mess, The Information adds that she’s planning to fast-track new titles in “beloved” franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, neither of which have received new entries in quite some time.

Despite the popularity of Amazon’s TV show, it’s been 11 years since Fallout 4 – although Fallout 76 has remained relevant in the interim, and will get a native PS5 version later this year.

Similarly, it’s been eight years since The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced, and 16 years since Skyrim released. We did get Oblivion Remastered last year.

Microsoft’s bean counters have apparently approved Sharma’s plan to invest into these titles, but in the current game development climate, it takes four or five years to spin up a new product, so we might not be seeing the fruits of its labour for some time.

Additionally, we’ll need to wait and see if these titles come to Sony’s consoles at all. Xbox has been sending out mixed messages, saying it wants to release more console exclusives, but only if the health of its business improves. Judging by Nadella’s comments, it’s got a long way to go.

What do you make of all this? Are you excited by the prospect of more Fallout or Elder Scrolls? Let us know below.