Microsoft’s new Xbox chief nixes Gaming Copilot for mobile and console, shakes up leadership

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief nixes Gaming Copilot for mobile and console, shakes up leadership

By Todd Bishop
Publication Date: 2026-05-05 21:40:00

Asha Sharma was named Xbox CEO in February after leading Microsoft’s CoreAI group. (Microsoft Photo)

Microsoft is pulling the plug on its AI-powered Copilot assistant for Xbox, winding down the feature on mobile and canceling its planned launch on consoles.

The pullback, announced Tuesday by new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, comes barely a year after the company debuted the gaming chatbot as a centerpiece of its AI push into gaming, demonstrating the limits of Microsoft’s strategy of embedding AI across its product lineup.

Microsoft first unveiled Copilot for Gaming at the Game Developers Conference in March 2025, pitching it as an AI sidekick that could offer gameplay tips, coaching, and recaps of where players left off. A beta launched on the Xbox mobile and PC apps and later on the ROG Xbox Ally handheld. The…