Asha Sharma on great games and using AI

It’s the beginning of a new era xbox.

On Friday microsoft gaming Long-Term Leader Announcement Phil Spencer plans to retire as CEO And that Asha Sharmahead of product development at Microsoft CoreAI, has been appointed as his successor.

Spencer has been a major figure in the gaming community for decades, so Sharma knows he has a big responsibility to fill. manifold In the interview, she said she has “deep respect” for Spencer’s leadership and the legacy he left her, as well as for her current chief content officer, Matt Booty.

In an internal memo announcing his promotion, Sharma was quick to lay out his top priorities for Microsoft Gaming, citing “great games,” “the return of Xbox,” and “the future of play” as his three key promises to the gaming community.

So first off, what makes a great game for Sharma, who held top positions at Instacart and Meta before CoreAI? New Microsoft Gaming CEO says: manifold It’s about games with “deep emotional resonance” and a “distinct point of view.” She wants to develop stories that make players “feel something,” the way she felt in Campo Santo’s 2016 first-person mystery “Firewatch.”

Sharma has taken on the role of head of Sony PlayStation and Nintendo’s main competitors. This is because he finds himself as an outsider to the larger gaming community and is fully aware that he still “has a lot to learn.” But Sharma says there is a commitment to “build on what the community is telling us.”

“I’m coming into the gaming space as a platform builder,” Sharma said, adding that her goal is to “earn the right to be trusted by players and developers” and show her fan base “consistency” over time.

In an interview with her manifoldSharma acknowledged the tumultuous state of the gaming industry, citing Matthew Ball’s recent State of Video Games 2026 report as evidence that the larger “transformation” in the industry will be about “protecting what we believe in while keeping an open mind about the future.”

Due to her strong background in AI, initial reactions to Sharma’s appointment raised concerns about her specific views on the use of generative AI in game development. Sharma says his position is simple. She “does not tolerate bad AI”.

“AI has been a part of gaming for a long time and will continue to be,” Sharma said, noting that while games need new “growth engines,” “great stories are made by humans.”

Spencer’s departure comes as Microsoft Gaming celebrates its 25th anniversary this fall. Sharma is looking forward to kicking off this event to set the stage for the company’s future. Sharma sees this as “a moment to honor the past while setting the direction for the next chapter.” This will include a big update at the GDC gaming festival scheduled for next March, as well as some big announcements ahead of Xbox’s next Games Showcase presentation this spring.