TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,961
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
I'm relieved. Are you relieved? I'm relieved.
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We had one of those weeks where decades happen recently: not only did we get hit by Sony's closure of Bluepoint, but the next day clocked us with the retirement of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who's dipping out of the company after almost 40 years. Xbox president Sarah Bond, who was expected to take the reins off of Spencer someday, also handed in her resignation.
Stepping into Spencer's still-warm boots is Asha Sharma. Sharma joined Microsoft in 2024 and, before transitioning to gaming overlord, headed up its CoreAI division, the part of the megacorp whose job is to build its "end-to-end Copilot & AI stack." Gulp.
But in a chat with Windows Central, Sharma and Xbox's now-CCO Matt Booty took pains to soothe our AI-nxieties. "I think that with any new technology, it brings possibilities as a tool, but even more important, especially now—we need to draw lines on what we won't do," said Sharma.
What won't they do? "I will not flood our ecosystem with slop. We won't have careless output, we won't have derivative work," said Sharma, echoing her own opening message when she was first announced as Microsoft Gaming's new boss. "I deeply believe in the words that I shared previously there."
Booty, for his part, says that "We've got no pressure from Microsoft, there are no directives on AI coming down." Though he also says that, "Just as a group, game developers are always eager to adopt new technology. When Photoshop showed up, it took about one month for it to appear in every game studio on the planet because it was so useful," and that "our teams are free to use any technologies that might be beneficial—whether it's helping write code or check for bugs."
Which, hm. Let me be clear that this is just me speculating through a thick haze of cynicism, but I do wonder what would register to Booty and other MS execs as genuine "pressure" to use AI.
Maybe there are no direct mandates, sure, but if the guys signing devs' paycheques keep talking about how magical and useful this new wundertech is, and pointedly reminding them how free they are to make use of it, would Booty call that pressure? Would Satya Nadella, the Microsoft suzerain who has become a sort of ecstatic prophet of our AI future?
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, Booty's adamant that humans still rule the creative process at Xbox's studios. "At the end of the day as Asha said, we're committed to art made by people. Technology is ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
We had one of those weeks where decades happen recently: not only did we get hit by Sony's closure of Bluepoint, but the next day clocked us with the retirement of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who's dipping out of the company after almost 40 years. Xbox president Sarah Bond, who was expected to take the reins off of Spencer someday, also handed in her resignation.
Stepping into Spencer's still-warm boots is Asha Sharma. Sharma joined Microsoft in 2024 and, before transitioning to gaming overlord, headed up its CoreAI division, the part of the megacorp whose job is to build its "end-to-end Copilot & AI stack." Gulp.
But in a chat with Windows Central, Sharma and Xbox's now-CCO Matt Booty took pains to soothe our AI-nxieties. "I think that with any new technology, it brings possibilities as a tool, but even more important, especially now—we need to draw lines on what we won't do," said Sharma.
What won't they do? "I will not flood our ecosystem with slop. We won't have careless output, we won't have derivative work," said Sharma, echoing her own opening message when she was first announced as Microsoft Gaming's new boss. "I deeply believe in the words that I shared previously there."
Booty, for his part, says that "We've got no pressure from Microsoft, there are no directives on AI coming down." Though he also says that, "Just as a group, game developers are always eager to adopt new technology. When Photoshop showed up, it took about one month for it to appear in every game studio on the planet because it was so useful," and that "our teams are free to use any technologies that might be beneficial—whether it's helping write code or check for bugs."
Which, hm. Let me be clear that this is just me speculating through a thick haze of cynicism, but I do wonder what would register to Booty and other MS execs as genuine "pressure" to use AI.
Maybe there are no direct mandates, sure, but if the guys signing devs' paycheques keep talking about how magical and useful this new wundertech is, and pointedly reminding them how free they are to make use of it, would Booty call that pressure? Would Satya Nadella, the Microsoft suzerain who has become a sort of ecstatic prophet of our AI future?
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, Booty's adamant that humans still rule the creative process at Xbox's studios. "At the end of the day as Asha said, we're committed to art made by people. Technology is ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?