- Phil Spencer resigns and leaves Microsoft
- Asha Sharma is the new executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming
- She will provide new leadership and direction for all things Xbox gaming.
It’s a new dawn for Xbox and its millions of devoted fans. Microsoft announced on Friday (February 20) that former Xbox boss Phil Spencer will retire and Asha Sharma will take over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Sharma joined Microsoft two years ago after previously working as chief operating officer at Instacart. Phil Spencer, who started as an intern, is leaving after 38 years at Microsoft, the last twelve of which he led Microsoft’s gaming efforts.
Under his leadership, Xbox’s business was transformed, marked by a focus, perhaps, less on hardware and more on platform as a service. It expanded Game Pass and, on the platform, released several “Day One” releases. Xbox Network, formerly Xbox Live, currently has more than 500 million monthly active users. Spencer oversaw the acquisitions of Activision and Minecraft, and the launch of major game franchises such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War.
Spencer also owns the widely derided Game Pass price hikes, which raised monthly fees by as much as 50%, from $19.99 a month to $29.99 a month, and his laser focus on cloud-based services has left some concerned that the once-vaunted Xbox console is now a second-class citizen in the Xbox gaming ecosystem.
Yes, Xbox, No, AI
Clearly aware of these and other criticisms, Asha Sharma promised in a blog post “the return of Xbox.”
“We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox, starting with the console that has shaped who we are. It connects us with the gamers and fans who invest in Xbox and with the developers who create ambitious experiences for it,” Sharma wrote.
That’s good news for Xbox fans, but Xbox faces an uphill battle with the current console which has, according to Quantumrun, just under 31% market share compared to PS5.
Sharma, however, does not promise a pure return to hardware first. As he notes in his company message, “Games now live across devices, not within the confines of a single piece of hardware. As we expand to PC, mobile, and the cloud, Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve.”
That sounds like more device-agnostic, cloud-based services.
Sharma also addressed the most controversial technology topic: AI, and commits to human-created content.
We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI garbage.
Asha Sharma, CEO of Microsoft Games
“As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI garbage. Games are and always will be art, created by humans and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.”
While it’s still unclear how Sharma and his recently promoted lieutenant, Microsoft Games chief content officer Matt Booty, plan to achieve these goals, there’s no shortage of enthusiasm: “I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place,” Sharma wrote.
“Together, Asha and Matt have the right combination of consumer products leadership and gaming depth to drive innovation across our platform and content portfolio,” Microsoft CEO Satya wrote in his message to staff.
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