Microsoft is creating a new division called Xbox Labs to explore innovative concepts in the gaming space. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the unit as a "small group of game makers, engineers and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things our players and developers can experience."
Sharma stated that the team will "build in the open, learn from what people do, and measure success by whether more people are playing and creating." The executive aims to "challenge long-held assumptions about our industry: the tether between software and hardware, the boundary between creation and play, and how people discover and experience games."
Sharma noted that while predicting the future of gaming is difficult, it is clear there are opportunities to make high-quality games easier to access and give older titles new life. The CEO added that these goals represent "unmistakably good outcomes for players, even when (and sometimes because) they challenge our existing business models."
Sharma believes Xbox has an "important role to play here" regarding the evolution of player participation. The CEO highlighted that people spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing Xbox games, which is roughly five times the estimated time spent writing code globally.
Recent technical milestones include WebGPU reaching nearly 90% global browser support and the porting of Windows PC builds to run inside browsers via WebAssembly and WebGPU. Microsoft has also observed users modding skateboarding into Call of Duty, playing Halo in web browsers, and translating Windows PC builds to run on Apple Silicon.
The company did not provide a timely response for publication regarding the use of unauthorized intellectual property.
