• by Colin Kirkland , 7 hours ago

In an unexpected change of command, Microsoft has named Asha Sharma -- former president of the company’s CoreAI product -- has been named executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft's gaming division. Sharma is one the first women to run a major console manufacturer. 

Despite recently stating that he would not be “retiring anytime soon,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is leaving after almost 40 years at the company, alongside Xbox president Sarah Bond, who many expected to take over Spencer’s role. 

“Last year, Phil Spencer made the decision to retire from the company, and since then we’ve been talking about succession planning,” reads Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s memo announcing Spencer’s planned departure from late last week.

Asha Sharma, former Instacart and Meta executive, will become the new CEO of Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, bringing her knowledge of artificial intelligence to the tech giant’s overall future strategy of game development, investing in successful franchises, and entering new categories and markets, according to the memo.

Sharma says that under her command, Microsoft will renew its commitment to the Xbox console business, which struggled last quarter, with hardware revenue falling 32% year-over-year, and Xbox content and services dropping 5%.

“Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worth of the communities we serve,” Sharma states, indicating plans to make it easier for developers to build games and reach players across devices, including PC, mobile, and the cloud.

Hinting at the onboarding of more AI-powered technology, Sharma strikes down the idea of cheap AI-generated content, calling its “soulless AI slop,” defining games as “art crafted by humans.” 

Alongside Sharma, longtime Microsoft gaming executive Matt Booty will be promoted to EVP and chief content officer, reporting to Sharma.