New Xbox boss promises "Return of the Xbox" without AI trash
In an internal memo, Asha Sharma outlines her strategy for games and hardware at Microsoft following Phil Spencer's departure.
Asha Sharma and Matt Booty.
(Image: Microsoft)
Following the surprising leadership change at Microsoft's Xbox division, the new head of the department, Asha Sharma, and her content chief, Matt Booty, have outlined their plans in internal memos. Both memos are available to The Verge, which has published them in full.
The two memos differ significantly. Matt Booty states very briefly that the focus should be on games and how customers use them – a matter of course. After all, there is a clear statement about the future of the in-house studios: “To be clear: no organizational changes are planned for our studios.” However, this does not say whether this excludes further layoffs, such as those Microsoft carried out thousands of times last year.
Commitment to consoles
True to her new position as head of all of Microsoft's gaming activities, Asha Sharma presents significantly more vision and positioning in her memo. She names three focal points: “Great Games,” “The Return of Xbox,” and “The Future of Gaming.” The second of these, which also concerns the future of Microsoft consoles, is likely to be the most important for the industry. Sharma makes a clear commitment to the devices: “We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.” Nevertheless, the manager emphasizes in the following that Microsoft does not want to abandon its cross-platform strategy.
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However, this is not a concrete announcement of a new Xbox – it would also be too early for that. The next generation was previously expected after the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for 2027. AMD had also recently stated clearly that the development of its semi-custom chip for Microsoft is planned for release next year. However, the current memory crisis makes a delay of one or two years likely for both companies.
AI yes, but no “AI Slop”
Asha Sharma also addresses another topic that is highly controversial among players, but remains vague. While they want to create games “with the most modern technologies,” they should, in her words, remain “art created by humans.” Sharma also writes: “We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.”
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