NEW YORK: Microsoft Corp named AI executive Asha Sharma to lead its Xbox and gaming business, replacing Phil Spencer, and will recommit to console users after years of developing products for mobile and personal computer (PC) players.
Spencer, who has run the Xbox business since 2014 and was named gaming chief executive officer (CEO) in 2022 is retiring, the company said. Xbox president Sarah Bond will also leave.
Xbox games studios chief Matt Booty will become chief content officer, reporting to Sharma.
Sharma, who previously held roles at Instacart and Meta Platforms Inc, was chosen for her consumer expertise and will serve as the CEO of gaming, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last Friday in a blog post.
In recent years, the company has focused significant effort on broadening beyond its core console audience, aiming at PC and mobile gamers with a spree of acquisitions, including the US$69bil purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc.
Those moves and others alienated long-time Xbox devotees. Meanwhile, the mobile gaming market slowed and Microsoft’s plans there have lagged.
Microsoft has laid off more than 2,500 gaming employees since 2024, according to industry tracker Obsidian.
The company has shuttered studios including Arkane Austin, the Initiative and Tango Gameworks, and cancelled games that were in the works for years.
The company also angered gamers with deals to bring its most significant console games to rivals devices from Sony Group Corp and Nintendo Co.
Sharma wants to reverse some of the slides. “We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years, and to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world,” Sharma said in an email to staff.
“We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with the console, which has shaped who we are.”
Sharma has been overseeing Microsoft’s efforts at working with a wide array of artificial intelligence (AI) models, as well as focusing on AI agents, applications and developer tools.
Early last year, when the industry was rocked by the rapid interest in China’s DeepSeek model, Sharma led about 100 engineers working around the clock to respond to Nadella’s demand for a quick response, testing the software and releasing a version for Microsoft’s Azure cloud customers within days.
Shares of Microsoft closed little changed at US$397.23 last Friday in New York.
Amy Hood, Xbox’s chief financial officer, has pressed the Xbox division to make more money, Bloomberg has reported. Recently, executives set a goal of 30% “accountability margins” – a term for profitability. — Bloomberg
