Will new Microsoft CEO Nadella sell the Xbox division?

Here's a question for you: will Satya Nadella, Microsoft's newly appointed chief executive, sell the Xbox division?

There have been some rumblings in the past that Microsoft could sell the Xbox division, but it's not been clear which companies would actually want to own the business. It also might make it a harder sell, since the company recently acquired the rights to the Gears of Warfranchise, and has continued to say that the Halo franchise will be an important part of its gaming strategy over the next several years.



Still, none of that bars Microsoft from making a move with Xbox. In fact, having those two franchises in place might make the sale even more lucrative for the company.

The reason I ask such a question is simple: Nadella is by no means a “gaming” guy at heart. After joining Microsoft in 1992, he played a crucial role in the company's enterprise team, and went on to be the brains behind the software giant's move into the cloud. Even in his email to employees last week, Nadella made no indication that he had a desire to focus on gaming and consumers. Instead, he talked about getting products to the market more quickly and realizing the value of mobile and cloud services.

All of that has me wondering whether Nadella wants to make Microsoft a more agile company. After all, the software giant is, well, giant. And making decisions quickly and getting products to the market swiftly isn't always easy for a company of that size and magnitude.