No company likes to bleed.
Yes.. all companys achieve this degree of success by having divisions that constantly loose money, invest in failed products/ideas and are firmly the last in their segment after 20 years. Formula of success right there.
I get that. But how do you define a value add to a company? Is it just monitory profit on that single product or even if the product is not making profit but overall its getting Microsoft a brand recognition in consumer market?
It is impossible for us to know what the exec sees it. But we know some facts
1). Microsoft is primarily an enterprise company, except Xbox. Everything else has either failed or shut down
2). They are doubling down on xbox and gaming since past 5 years. So they are very serious about maintaining their position in consumer market using Xbox as a brand as small as it is
3). Its fucking $3T company, xbox loss or gain is just a rounding error in their balance sheet. Even if they look at Xbox as Microsoft marketing tool for consumer, its still worth it. To stay relevant in consumer market.