By Jennifer Maas
Publication Date: 2026-02-20 23:57:00
It’s the dawn of a new era for Xbox.
On Friday, Microsoft Gaming announced longtime leader Phil Spencer would be retiring as CEO and that Asha Sharma, Microsoft CoreAI’s head of product development, had been named his successor.
With Spencer having been a staple in the gaming community for decades, Sharma knows she has some big shoes to fill, telling Variety in an interview she has “deep respect” for Spencer’s leadership and the legacy he’s leaving behind to her and now-chief content officer Matt Booty.
Sharma was quick in laying out her top priorities for Microsoft Gaming in an internal memo announcing her promotion, noting “great games,” “the return of Xbox” and the “future of play” as her three main commitments to the gaming community.
So first, what makes a great game for Sharma, whose roles prior to CoreAI include top positions at Instacart and Meta? The new Microsoft Gaming CEO tells Variety it’s all about games with…
