Xbox Gaming Head Phil Spencer has officially left his position, as Asha Sharma takes over the job. Among all the news surrounding shifts in the gaming industry, this is the one that is the most impactful. The coming times will tell which direction the gaming division is finally going to go.
This is because she comes from an AI-related executive position at Microsoft. With multi-billion-dollar companies now overrelying on AI technology, gamers and consumers are growing sceptical. So most are not completely sold on her taking over the position.
Asha took to the internet to drop her official statement on her promotion on the Microsoft Blog website. In the post, she addressed the concerns about the future of Xbox relying on AI for its products. She assures that it will not be the case moving forward.
History of Phil Spencer’s journey at Xbox
Since 2014, Phil Spencer has been at the center of every modern Xbox descision including multiple console generations. He saw through to the brand’s shift from being reliant on physical hardware to gamepass systems, giving rise to the PC side of Xbox gaming.
During his tenure, Xbox Gaming was also responsible for multiple studio acquisitions, which included some big names such as Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, Ninja Theory, and others. All of whom continue to make high-quality games.
Phil Spencer joined Xbox as an intern almost 38 years ago in 1988. But his retirement from the position is not the only news that has appeared. Sarah Bond, who had just become the president of Xbox, is also quitting her position.
“As part of this transition, Sarah Bond has decided to leave Microsoft to begin a new chapter. Sarah has been instrumental during a defining period for Xbox, shaping our platform strategy, expanding Game Pass and cloud gaming, supporting new hardware launches, and guiding some of the most significant moments in our history.” Phil Wrote in the Blog.
Asha Sharma says she wants to avoid AI slop
It’s not all about retirements. Asha Sharma in the blog also confirms that she has appointed Matt Booty, the previous president of Game Studios and content at Xbox, as the new Chief Content Officer.
She writes, “I promoted Matt Booty in honor of this commitment. He understands the craft and the challenges of building great games, has led teams that deliver award-winning work, and has earned the trust of game developers across the industry.”
Her main focus in the statement was addressing the issues around AI. “As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.”
While these words may be reassuring to hear from a consumer standpoint, from this new leadership. It’s not the kind of song that gamers haven’t heard before, so most have their fingers crossed on social media.
The next few years will be defining for how much the gaming ecosystem around Xbox changes for better or for worse.
