Following Asha Sharma's appointment as CEO of Xbox, there have been noticeable changes in the management approach within Microsoft's gaming division. According to The Game Business, citing company employees, the new leader has brought a startup culture to Xbox, requiring teams to make decisions significantly faster than before.
According to sources, while important issues previously took weeks and numerous meetings to discuss, divisions are now expected to respond within days, and sometimes even hours. This approach allows the company to react more quickly to market changes, but many employees describe what is happening as chaotic, and some decisions as hasty.
One example was the recent price adjustment. Sources claim that the announcement of the price increase was prepared in a hurry after Apple announced its own price increase earlier that day. According to the publication's interlocutors, this demonstrated a new reactive management style.
However, not all management representatives support such methods. Some heads of internal game studios are particularly critical of them. They believe that Asha Sharma listens too much to external consultants and does not sufficiently take into account the opinions of developers who directly create games.
Another reason for dissatisfaction was the situation surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. According to sources, there is a feeling within Xbox that the consequences of the game's weak commercial results have affected the company's entire gaming business, and individual teams are effectively "paying" for the revenue problems that have arisen.
In addition, employees express doubts about the company's current strategy. Some believe that management is too attentive to social media discussions, and also question further investments in the console direction against the backdrop of an ongoing component shortage and a shrinking gaming console market.
The focus on exclusives also causes skepticism. One studio head stated that the company "is trying to catch up with a shrinking market with franchises whose best years are behind them," hinting that even the exclusive release of Gears of War: E-Day is unlikely to significantly increase Xbox console sales.
Another studio head, commenting on the company's latest decisions, noted that after the acquisition of Activision, the gaming division, in his opinion, finally came under the control of Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and corporate CEO Satya Nadella, which, as some employees believe, significantly affected Xbox's development strategy.