Microsoft (MSFT) stock was up slightly on Wednesday following news that the company will end development of Copilot, the company’s AI assistant, for consoles. According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, “We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console.”
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Sharma noted that the decision to end development of Copilot for consoles and wind down mobile development is part of a larger shift at Xbox. She stated, “Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers.”
The Xbox CEO also highlighted new leadership changes at the gaming division. She said the company has promoted leaders who have helped shape Xbox over the years, while also bringing in new voices to help the company navigate the current video game industry. Sharma said these changes are essential to get the company back on track.
Microsoft’s Growing Xbox Problem
Microsoft’s Xbox has been struggling for several years now, as gamers continue to move away from the brand. This has resulted in major changes at Xbox, including the release of games developed in-house on rival platforms, such as Sony’s (SONY) PlayStation consoles. This, and other changes, have hurt the brand. That has also resulted in weak sales for the Xbox Series X|S. Sharma’s comments today give hope to Xbox fans that a turnaround is on the horizon.
Microsoft Stock Movement Today
Microsoft stock was up 0.35% on Wednesday, but was still down 14.64% year-to-date. The stock has also fallen 5.07% over the past 12 months.
MSFT stock movement today saw some 17.02 million shares change hands, which was roughly half the company’s three-month average daily trading volume.
Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Microsoft is Strong Buy, based on 32 Buy and two Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average MSFT stock price target of $556.23, representing a potential 34.83% upside for the shares.
