Over the weekend, Microsoft's gaming division went through major personnel changes. With Phil Spencer retiring after 38 years of service, Asha Sharma has been appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. However, just after the appointment was announced, a wave of doubts about Sharma quickly emerged on social media, with some even calling her an "AI-generated fake player."
On her first day at the helm of Xbox, Sharma chose to address the controversy directly. The focus of the controversy mainly focuses on the activities of her personal game account. Some people believe that the game records and achievements of his account do not look like a core player, and even suggest that the entire account may be operated by AI or others.
In response, Sharma personally responded on social platforms and clearly denied these claims.
Sharma's promotion is part of a broader reorganization of Microsoft's gaming division. According to Microsoft's official announcement, she will take over the entire gaming organization including Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard and King. Nadella emphasized that Sharma’s experience in building and scaling consumer platforms for billions of users will be critical in leading Microsoft Gaming into the next era of growth.
At the same time, Matt Booty was promoted to executive vice president and chief content officer, reporting directly to Sharma and responsible for the overall management of its nearly 40 game studios. Former Xbox president Sarah Bond resigned during this adjustment.
Nadella reiterated that Microsoft's "long-term commitment" to games remains unchanged and remains firmly committed to Xbox's hardware roadmap and first-party content development ecosystem strategy. Xbox currently has over 500 million monthly active users and is one of the top publishers across platforms.