The video game industry is still trying to digest the sudden departure of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond from Xbox. Microsoft has since appointed Asha Sharma, former president of Microsoft CoreAI, to replace Spencer, with Matt Booty promoted to chief content officer of Xbox.
Concerned fans were worried about what Sharma's appointment would mean for Xbox, especially given her AI background, as she vowed not to flood the ecosystem with “selfless AI slop.” However, that might be a little hard to believe, given how Microsoft's upper management has recently made sweeping decisions to bolster its AI push. Asha and Booty have now reiterated that Microsoft is not pushing them to implement AI in Xbox's strategy.
Microsoft is not pushing for AI implementation on Xbox
In an interview with Windows Central, Sharma and Booty insisted that Microsoft had put no pressure on them to implement any AI strategy on the Xbox, despite Sharma's previous role. “I think with any new technology, it brings possibilities as a tool, but more importantly, especially now — we have to draw lines on what not to do,” Sharma said. “That's what I tried to do when I shared my opening letter. I'm not going to flood our ecosystem with slack.”
Booty assured that Microsoft is not forcing devs to use AI tools, but added that they are free to use whatever tools they want. “What I hear in our studios: It's people, our artists, our coders, writers — they're doing creative work,” he said. “In my experience, any time there's new technology, what happens is there's a need for more experts, new experts. It raises the bar on what the expectations are for the quality of the game.
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“We have no pressure from Microsoft, no direction on AI. Our teams are free to use any technology that might be beneficial, whether it's to help write code or check for bugs – more things in the product pipeline. At the end of the day, as Asha says, we're committed to the art people make. The technology is just what supports it.”
