On Friday, February 20, 2026, Phil Spencer announced his retirement as Xbox CEO. Asha Sharma, who was previously Microsoft CoreAI’s head of product development, was announced as his successor. Due to her background, many have been eager to know what her approach would be towards the use of AI in game development.
Asha Sharma, the new Xbox boss
The use of AI in game development has been a controversial topic. Some gamers are against it on moral grounds, owing to the fact that AI tools were trained with the works of developers who never got credit for them. Others blame AI tools for the mass layoffs in the video game industry.
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Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that a lot of gamers were eager to know the direction the new Xbox boss would like to go with AI in games. The new Xbox CEO could not escape similar questions in a recent interview with Variety.
Asked what great games meant to her, based on her internal memo, she said games with “deep emotional resonance” and “a distinct point of view”. She wants to make games that will make players “feel something,” like “Firewatch” made her feel.
Asha Sharma, the new Xbox CEO
On generative AI, Sharma said her stance is simple, there will be “no tolerance for bad AI”. However, she admits that “AI has long been part of gaming and will continue to be”. She added that gaming needs new “growth engines”, but that the place of humans cannot be overstated because “great stories are created by humans”.
“I believe gaming is one of the most powerful art forms in the world, Sharma wrote on LinkedIn. “It brings people together. It creates real opportunities for developers, artists, storytellers, and entrepreneurs everywhere. That combination of creativity and technology, and the chance to help people make and share something meaningful, is why this work matters to me.”
“Gaming has always pushed the limits of technology. It demands the best from hardware, software, and services. It brings together art and engineering in ways few other media can. I am grateful to the teams who built Xbox.”
