Surprise news at the end of last week saw the retirement of longtime Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, along with the exit of Xbox president Sarah Bond. The new gaming CEO (and EVP) has been named as Asha Sharma, with Matt Booty being promoted to the role of Chief Content Officer at Xbox. With the new executives ushered in, they’re keen to make a good first impression and have already turned to addressing the debate surrounding AI in gaming.

AI is both a growing part of gaming and game development, but it remains controversial. Last week, we saw Unity preparing to unveil new AI tech, while Godot game engine maintainers complained about “AI slop” code wasting their time. It’s fair to say that AI holds a relatively negative reputation among gamers, and now, Sharma promises no “bad AI” moving forward.

Asha Sharma is getting more involved with fans, too

Sharma’s comments come in an interview with Variety, where she explains her stance of “no tolerance for bad AI,” so it could be said that this is one of the new philosophies at Xbox. The executive has a background in AI, which may have been a cause for concern for gamers resistant to its use in gaming, and it should be noted that she is totally against it.

“AI has long been part of gaming and will continue to be,” says Sharma, though she clarifies her thoughts by adding that “great stories are created by humans” while calling AI a “growth engine”. It’s not immediately obvious what Xbox deems “bad AI,” though we’re sure that many gamers will hold an opinion on what that means to them.

People have also been quick to criticize the new CEO’s lack of gaming experience, and Sharma has been taking to social media to do some market research, so to speak. Even in her Variety interview, she says “I’m coming into gaming as a platform builder,” adding she aims to “earn the right to be trusted by players and developers”. Sharma isn’t exactly hiding her background, and who’s to say that an Xbox boss should have hundreds or thousands of hours racked up to earn their spot?

After sharing her gametag online (AMRAHSAHSA), people have already done some investigation into her Xbox account and found she has indeed dived into Borderlands 2 since that tweet – at least a little bit – while revealing other recent activity in Xbox Game Studios titles like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. She admits she’s no Phil Spencer, but has 100%’d Firewatch.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.