Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and Matt Booty, Xbox's chief content officer, have emphasized a commitment to new Xbox hardware as part of a broader effort to revive the brand. Their statements follow the retirement of long-time leader Phil Spencer and the departure of Sarah Bond. Sharma, coming from Microsoft's CoreAI division, promises announcements soon while stressing learning about ongoing strategies like Game Pass and multiplatform publishing.
The leadership transition at Microsoft Gaming, announced around February 23, 2026, marks a pivotal moment for Xbox. Phil Spencer, who has led Xbox since 2014, is retiring after nearly 40 years at Microsoft. Sarah Bond, previously Xbox president and seen as a potential successor, is also leaving the company.
Asha Sharma, appointed as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, brings experience from Microsoft's CoreAI division but lacks prior gaming background. Alongside Matt Booty, who has headed Xbox Game Studios since 2018, Sharma outlined her vision in an interview with Windows Central. "I am committed to 'returning to Xbox', and that starts with console, that starts with hardware," Sharma said. "You will hear more about that soon - we'll have some announcements coming up. You will see us collectively investing here."
Sharma described the "return to Xbox" as recapturing the brand's founding spirit of surprise, rebellion, and fun. She acknowledged the need to serve players beyond consoles, stating she requires time to understand past decisions on initiatives like 'Xbox Anywhere', Game Pass, and publishing on platforms such as PlayStation. "Right now, I need to learn, candidly, about the 'why' of these decisions, what we were optimising for and what the data says about the Xbox strategy today," she added. Sharma emphasized evaluating lifetime value over short-term efficiencies.
On artificial intelligence, Sharma vowed against flooding the ecosystem with low-quality content. "I will not flood our ecosystem with slop," she said. "We won't have careless output, we won't have derivative work." Booty reinforced this, noting no top-down AI directives from Microsoft and that technology supports human-created art. He highlighted the studio system's first-party focus and involvement in hardware, citing optimizations for games like Gears of War on devices such as the Xbox Ally.
The changes have sparked concern, with original Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley initially comparing Sharma's role to a "palliative care doctor" but later clarifying he does not believe Xbox is dead. "I love Xbox as my own flesh and blood," Blackley wrote on social media. "The distress it's in kills me, haunts me." He left Microsoft in 2002 and stressed the need for introspection amid challenges.
Sharma pledged to honor Spencer's player-first culture, aiming for growth over the next 25 years through listening, learning, and transparent communication. "The work is proof over promise," she concluded.
