Microsoft announced a significant leadership change in its gaming division on Friday. Phil Spencer is departing from his role as Microsoft Gaming CEO, and Xbox President Sarah Bond is also leaving the company.
Former Instacart and Meta executive Asha Sharma will replace Spencer. Sharma’s most recent position was President of Microsoft’s CoreAI product. Her appointment suggests the company intends to deepen its integration of artificial intelligence into video games. Microsoft had previously experimented with this technology, developing an AI gaming companion and releasing a buggy, AI-generated level of “Quake II.”
In an internal memo published by The Verge, Sharma outlined her vision. She stated that Microsoft “will invent new business models and new ways to play” and that “monetization and AI” will “evolve and influence this future.”
However, Sharma placed specific limits on this approach. She vowed that the company “will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.” She emphasized that “games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.”
Sharma listed three specific commitments in the memo. She pledged to avoid AI slop, build great games beloved by players, and prioritize Xbox.
