Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma's new test: Rebooting Xbox in tough mode

Microsoft on Friday named Indian-origin Asha Sharma Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, handing her control of the Xbox business. She succeeds Phil Spencer, who retires after 38 years. The move comes as the tech giant integrates its $69-billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, navigates a 9.5% fall in quarterly gaming revenue, and pushes deeper into cloud delivery, subscriptions and AI-led development in a $180-billion global gaming market.

 

Career arc

 

• 2011: Joined Microsoft 
• Porch Group: COO
• Meta: Vice-President, Product & Engineering
• Instacart: COO
• 2024: Microsoft’s President  (Core AI Product)

 

A graduate of the Carlson School of Management, Sharma has built her career scaling consumer platforms rather than running game studios — a distinction key to the debate around her appointment

 

Her playbook

 

• In her first note to employees, Sharma said she steps into the role with “humility and urgency.” She outlined three priorities: Delivering great games, recommitting to Xbox’s core fans, and shaping the “future of play.” For her, great games are those with “deep emotional resonance,” such as narrative-driven Firewatch. 
• Given her AI background, scrutiny was immediate. Sharma responded that she has “no tolerance for bad AI,” stressing that games “are and always will be art, crafted by humans”

 

Achievement, unlocked?

 

When Sharma shared her Xbox gamertag, it became a public audit. 

A player card is biography and credibility. Her first recorded achievement — “Your Journey Begins” — was unlocked in January this year. Since then:

 

• 16 Halo missions; over 13 hours across Halo titles
• Firewatch completed to 100%
• Played What Remains of Edith Finch, Gone Home
• Recently began Borderlands 2 

 

Notably absent: Call of Duty

 

The contrast with her predecessor, Spencer, is sharp. His long-standing gamer identity formed part of Xbox’s cultural narrative. Sharma’s more recent play history has therefore become part of the credibility debate

 

Under scrutiny

 

• The appointment sparked criticism, including allegations of “Indian nepotism” and questions about her gaming-industry experience
• Supporters argue that leading Microsoft Gaming is defined by ecosystem strategy and not gamerscore

Microsoft Xbox Series X

   

Scale and strain

 

• Microsoft Gaming now spans 40 studios across Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King, home to franchises including Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush 
• Yet scale has not insulated it from pressure. Falling profits and rejig following acquisition underscore the operational reset underway

 

Beyond the console

 

• As Xbox nears 25-year mark, Sharma’s task is to stabilise operations while redefining the platform for a cloud-first, subscription-driven and AI era. The challenge is not simply to win the next console cycle, but to define Xbox beyond it