Xbox’s search for direction and a closer look at Candy Crush All Stars | Week in Views
The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can't let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we've created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Paige Cook
Xbox outlines platform overhaul in internal strategy memo
This week brought yet another update from Xbox leadership, with CEO Asha Sharma and executive Matt Booty outlining plans for the brand.
The memo spoke about rebuilding Xbox’s technology infrastructure, simplifying internal systems and more. The overall message was that Xbox needs to move faster, become less complex, and deliver more value to its players.
Now I talk about Xbox a lot, and it sometimes comes across as critical, but the reality is I’ve owned every Xbox console since the original and I want Xbox to succeed and become competitive again.
I do think it's important to remember that it’s still very early days under Asha Sharma. She’s inherited years of the previous leadership's decisions and so it will take time for us to truly see her vision and we have to give that time to manifest.
There have already been some positive changes. The recent Game Pass price reduction felt like a smart move after last year’s very unpopular price hike. The recent Xbox Games Showcase, in my opinion, was a solid one, featuring major franchises like Halo, Gears of War, and Fable alongside newer projects such as Clockwork Revolution.
At the same time, some decisions felt a little random and made me think, "Well, is that really important right now?" Such as the rebrand from Xbox to XBOX that happened after a social media poll.
To me, this memo talks a lot about strategy and rebuilding systems, but it doesn’t actually provide much context on how that is going to happen.
I think one big talking point about Xbox's strategy comes down to how it handles exclusives. In recent years, it has steered towards a more open approach, bringing its games to competing platforms. Now they are making these decisions on a case-by-case basis. For example, Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are exclusive, however, another major title like Fable won't be.
I understand that releasing on more platforms means reaching more players and potentially generating more revenue, but this strategy still feels like Xbox sitting on the fence.
It’s good to see Xbox being transparent and sharing lots of updates, it gives a sense of change, but I’m still looking forward to seeing a broader, clearer picture of where all the changes will lead and what Xbox’s long-term strategy looks like. With talks of layoffs on the horizon, it feels like things may take a tough turn before they get better
Craig Chapple
We discussed Xbox on the latest Week in Mobile Games podcast (coming soon!) and I have a couple extra questions about this grand new strategy, alongside Paige’s points above.
In terms of the strategy of exclusives, in theory this makes sense. But for the current generation that Microsoft has already lost - what does it get out of this? Microsoft has openly talked in a Wire post that revenue has fallen by half a billion dollars while it’s spent tens of billions on investments. I’m sure the studios would benefit more from extra sales on another platform.
Are there really going to be millions of consumers buying Xbox hardware, that’s now more expensive than when it launched? And from a Game Pass perspective, will exclusives really bring back growth that far surpasses the previous strategy during the current generation? They are playing with the same userbase - and there’s a reason prices rose in the first place: Game Pass hadn’t achieved sufficient scale.
Elsewhere, there are two parts of the Wire post I found contradictory:
“We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices. In the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content.”
Followed by: “... Going forward, we’ll evolve and rebuild our stack and look at capabilities across all of XBOX and potential M&A to help us win in hardware, PC, mobile and streaming.”
It sounds like the very same broad strategy, but with more PR around console being at the centre. I’ll be shocked if mobile really ends up a cornerstone of Xbox outside of King - which will never successfully bring Activision or Xbox IP to mobile. Even the Xbox mobile store couldn’t get off the ground.
Aaron Astle
Candy Crush All Stars crowns 2026 champion: 10 contenders, hardcore levels and $1m on the line
Candy Crush All Stars has become an annual tradition for match-3 giant King, from online origins during the pandemic to a full-scale production with IRL finals and a $1 million prize pool.
I was invited to attend this year’s finals, giving me a first-hand look at the competition where the world’s 10 best players battled it out to find the Candy Crush champion. I got to try out an All Stars level built specifically for the event, designed to challenge players to the fullest, and I even got to try on the coveted championship ring.
The contest spanned multiple rounds, first ranking these top 10 players on a leaderboard and gradually building up a picture of the top four players. Eventually, they advanced to semi-finals while the other six players competed for fifth place - and a larger share of the prize pool than the bottom five.
Next came the semi-finals and, after hours of strategic plays and fast moves, there was the final. Luana from Brazil came out on top, winning half of the total prize pool.
It was my first time attending an esports event, and seeing such high-level play, it almost feels a misnomer to call Candy Crush a casual game. Players were making moves and clearing the board faster than I could keep up with. One minute the level was shackled by multi-layered blockers, the next it was a free-for-all full of candies and Colour Bombs and Fish and matches.
Observing the competition for real - and seeing its competitors off camera, resting between matches, or chatting, or stressing out - I became more invested than in any esports tournament streamed online. These weren’t just players but people, from all walks of life, winning huge sums of money for their skill at a mobile game.
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