The new boss of Xbox has announced that Copilot AI will not be jammed into the console gaming experience and will be put out to pasture on mobile… and can I get a hell yeah?
Asha Sharma continued her hot run of form since taking charge of Microsoft’s ailing gaming division by ruling out AI infecting the next-generation Xbox console, as well as the current Xbox Series X|S machines. Sharma said the feature is not aligned with where Xbox is heading, and for that we are all very much enthused.
In a post on X, she writes: “Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers. Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business back on track.
“As part of this shift, you’ll see us begin to retire features that don’t align with where we’re headed. We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console.”
You’ll also notice Sharma has shaken up the leadership side of the business and in a memo so staff published by CNBC, she wrote: “We need to evolve how we work and how we are organised across our platform. Right now, it is too hard to ship impact quickly. We spend too much time inward instead of with the community, and we lack the depth we need in some of the fundamentals.”
She said she was “bringing in new leaders with consumer and technical expertise we do not yet have.”
It has been an impactful few weeks for Sharma, since the announcement she was taking over from long time Xbox platform chief Phil Spencer. She has lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass, returned to the Xbox-focused brand identity and hinted that exclusive first party games may be coming back in house.
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