Asha Sharma on Nice Games, AI Use

It’s the daybreak of a brand new period for Xbox.

On Friday, Microsoft Gaming introduced longtime chief Phil Spencer could be retiring as CEO and that Asha Sharma, Microsoft CoreAI’s head of product improvement, had been named his successor.

With Spencer having been a staple within the gaming neighborhood for many years, Sharma is aware of she has some massive footwear to fill, telling Variety in an interview she has “deep respect” for Spencer’s management and the legacy he’s forsaking to her and now-chief content material officer Matt Booty.

Sharma was fast in laying out her high priorities for Microsoft Gaming in an inside memo saying her promotion, noting “great games,” “the return of Xbox” and the “future of play” as her three major commitments to the gaming neighborhood.

So first, what makes an incredible sport for Sharma, whose roles previous to CoreAI embrace high positions at Instacart and Meta? The new Microsoft Gaming CEO tells Variety it’s all about video games with “deep emotional resonance” and “a distinct point of view.” She needs to develop tales that make gamers “feel something,” just like the sort of emotions Campo Santo’s 2016 first-person thriller “Firewatch” elicited in her.

Sharma takes on the mantle as head of the main competitor to Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo figuring out full properly she’s coming into the position as an outsider to the bigger gaming neighborhood and has “a lot to learn” nonetheless. But Sharma says she’s obtained a dedication to “being grounded in what the community is telling us.”

“I’m coming into gaming as a platform builder,” Sharma mentioned, including that her aim is to “earn the right to be trusted by players and developers” and present the fanbase that “consistency” over time.

In her interview with Variety, Sharma acknowledged the tumultuous state of the gaming trade, referencing Matthew Ball’s latest State of Video Gaming in 2026 report as proof that the bigger “transformation” of the sector is “protecting what we believe in while remaining open‑minded about the future.”

Due to her sturdy background in AI, preliminary reactions to Sharma’s appointment have raised issues about what her particular views are on the usage of generative AI in sport improvement. Sharma says her stance is straightforward: she has “no tolerance for bad AI.”

“AI has long been part of gaming and will continue to be,” Sharma mentioned, noting that gaming wants new “growth engines,” however that “great stories are created by humans.”

Spencer’s exit comes as Microsoft Gaming is approaching its twenty fifth anniversary this fall, an occasion Sharma is trying ahead to ushering in as she units the stage for the corporate’s future. Sharma sees it as “a moment to honor the past while setting direction for the next chapter,” which is able to embrace massive updates out of the upcoming GDC Festival of Gaming subsequent March and even some bigger bulletins forward of Xbox’s subsequent Games Showcase presentation this spring.