Phil Spencer's retirement caused a stir in the industry, but most of the discussion revolves around his successor, Asha Sharma. The new head of Microsoft Gaming is not connected to the gaming environment: in 2024, she joined Microsoft as an AI specialist.
Part of the community perceived her appointment with concern, but Sharma stated that Xbox will not become a "machine for generating soulless AI content," and that the technology will serve creativity.
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, publisher of Grand Theft Auto VI, spoke out in her defense. In an interview, he declined to give her advice, calling it unnecessary: according to him, Sharma is an outstanding manager who has successfully built a career without outside recommendations.
Zelnick himself noted that he also came to the industry not from games – he worked in film and music, including Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox.
In his opinion, success in the industry boils down to a simple formula: "create hits." It is large, successful releases that solve business problems and remove criticism.
This approach is confirmed by the sale of the Private Division label – Take-Two stated that they want to be a "top ten hit creator," and small projects do not meet these goals.
