Xbox—along with Nintendo’s consoles and Sony’s PlayStation line—has rounded out the big three video game consoles for decades. But last month, there were rumors of its demise: Xbox cofounder Seamus Blackley speculated that Microsoft is “sunsetting” the company’s main player in the video game industry because it wasn’t an AI focus for Microsoft. Longtime Xbox boss Phil Spencer retired last month, and Sharma, who was head of Microsoft’s CoreAI division, was announced as his replacement.
It’s the latest example of AI sending shockwaves across all types of sectors, threatening the future of industry-defining stalwart products and sending C-suite leaders scrambling with reassuring messaging.
In the recent internal Q&A at Microsoft, Nadella insisted the company will continue to invest in gaming: “Phil [Spencer], he’s always talked to me about how gaming is the largest entertainment category—what is gaming in its most expansive form going forward?” Nadella said.
He continued: “This doesn’t mean we walk away from what people are doing today when we think about a Triple A game on a console. The question is about where else can we go to extend that. For me, we’re long on gaming. We’ll continue to invest, and we’ll always do so. It’s up to this team to show excellence in execution and in creativity. Software always carries risk, but this is software with lots of creation risk. It’s way different. But yet, we have to be the best in class at it.”
That Nadella had to offer such reassurance is a sign of the times.
As more businesses and CEOs begin to embrace AI and incorporate it into how their organizations operate, job losses appear to be becoming the norm. Reassuring workers about the potential that AI has to threaten their jobs may become more of a norm for CEOs in the months and years to come.
Microsoft CEO says company is ‘long on gaming’ amid rumors of ‘sunsetting’ Xbox
