To address fan frustration while following Asha Sharma’s approach — keeping Gears of War: E-Day as an Xbox + PC exclusive where possible, without a full return to 100% exclusivity or canceling any games already announced for other consoles — Xbox should strategically make its most iconic, brand-defining franchises exclusive (Xbox consoles + PC/Game Pass, no day-and-date on PS5 or Switch).
This gives core fans clear reasons to own an Xbox, strengthens the ecosystem, and rebuilds brand identity without breaking existing promises.
Games that should be exclusive (Xbox ecosystem only)
- Gears of War E-Day (and future mainline Gears titles) This is the clearest win. It’s currently only announced for Xbox/PC, so no commitments to break.
- Future Halo titles (especially the next major entry after any already-committed ones like Campaign Evolved) Halo is the Xbox mascot franchise.
- Fable (reboot and future entries, if not already locked into multi-platform) The whimsical, story-driven RPG reboot has huge nostalgia and personality.
- Forza Motorsport (the simulation-focused series) Forza Horizon 6 is already committed to a later PS5 release, so that’s locked in.
Games that should stay or go multi-platform (to avoid over-correction)
- Anything already publicly announced for PS5 (e.g., Forza Horizon 6, certain Halo content, or any Bethesda titles with prior statements).
- Smaller or narrative/single-player-focused games (e.g., Perfect Dark if it’s more experimental, South of Midnight, etc.) — these benefit from the largest possible audience and Game Pass growth.
- Non-flagship or live-service titles where broad reach matters more than exclusivity.
This balanced approach lets Xbox say: “We’re listening to our core fans and protecting what makes the brand special (Gears, Halo, etc.), while still being a modern, player-friendly publisher.”
It drives console and Game Pass momentum without the whiplash of yanking announced games or going fully back to the 2000s exclusivity model.
Fan sentiment (from recent discussions) strongly supports this—especially for Gears E-Day as the first visible proof point.
Asha Sharma’s move on Gears E-Day is a smart, low-risk starting point.
If executed well on the other core IPs above, it should meaningfully reduce the friction without harming the business side.
