Microsoft unveiled a significant reorganization within its gaming division on Friday, announcing the departures of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox President Sarah Bond.
Asha Sharma, formerly an executive at Instacart and Meta, will succeed Spencer. Considering Sharma’s most recent role as the president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product, these personnel shifts suggest an intensified commitment by Microsoft to integrate AI into video games.
The corporation had previously explored the combination of AI and gaming, for instance, developing an AI-powered gaming companion and releasing a flawed, AI-generated level for “Quake II.”
Indeed, in an internal communication published by The Verge, Sharma indicated that Microsoft is poised to “innovate new business models and novel ways to play,” asserting that both “monetization and AI” will “evolve and influence this future.” Concurrently, she emphasized that the company “will not pursue immediate efficiency gains or inundate our ecosystem with uninspired AI-generated content.”
“Games are and always will be art, created by humans, and developed using the most advanced technology we provide,” Sharma further stated.
This commitment is one of three key pledges Sharma articulated in her memo. The others entail crafting “outstanding games cherished by players” and prioritizing the Xbox platform.