The changes at the top of Xbox appear to be running deeper than they first seemed. If recent reporting is accurate, Asha Sharma has already cut off one campaign that even people inside Xbox apparently were not especially fond of, while also taking direct control of the brand’s broader repositioning.
Asha Sharma, the new head of Xbox and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has not yet had much time to leave a long public track record behind her, but Windows Central has now made it a bit clearer what can already be linked to her. Earlier this month, many people noticed that Microsoft seemed to be actively erasing the This Is An Xbox marketing campaign from existence. Trailers were taken down, posts were deleted, and the message itself was scrubbed from wherever it could be found. Now there is at least a clearer explanation for why that happened.
According to a Microsoft spokesperson, Sharma pulled the This Is An Xbox campaign because it simply did not feel like Xbox. On top of that, she is said to be personally leading the rebranding of the Xbox brand, which suggests that her role already extends well beyond broad strategic decisions and into the identity and communication of the platform itself. That is a fairly direct level of involvement for someone who only recently stepped into the position after Phil Spencer.
The first few weeks suggest a different kind of Xbox
Based on what has been reported so far, Sharma’s opening stretch has been defined by an effort to steer Xbox back toward a more familiar direction. That reportedly includes a renewed focus on consoles, the first reveal of the next Xbox hardware project known as Project Helix, internal consideration of a possible Xbox Game Pass price reduction, and the cancellation of a marketing campaign that apparently nobody really liked, including people inside Xbox itself.
Her fifth official week as CEO of Microsoft Gaming is now drawing to a close, and if those moves are taken at face value, it does look like a strong start. At the same time, this is still the honeymoon phase that often follows a major leadership change, when the possibilities seem endless and people are eager to believe that the new person in charge will avoid the mistakes that defined the previous era.
Xbox’s future messaging now lands directly on her desk
It was already obvious that ultimate responsibility would sit with her as the new leader, but now it also seems clear that she is willing to take personal ownership over Xbox’s future communication wins and failures as well. That is about as double-edged as it gets. If the new direction works, she will get credit for it. If it falls flat, that will stick to her just as quickly.
One way or another, the line is now clearly drawn. The next few months should reveal whether this early reset really does point toward a stronger Xbox identity or whether it is simply the usual burst of optimism that follows any executive reshuffle. For now, the safest thing anyone can say is that Microsoft has handed her the knife and let her start carving.
At the very least, many will hope she avoids a communications disaster on the scale of Don Mattrick’s infamous Xbox One unveiling. That would be a very low bar, but Xbox has tripped over it before.
Source: WCCFTech, Windows Central
