After the recent leadership shake-up at Xbox, Asha Sharma is now openly acknowledging that players are frustrated with Microsoft’s console and PC presence. The new CEO does not appear to be treating this as a matter of small adjustments: Xbox Series X|S consoles are expected to receive updates every two weeks until the end of the year, with the goal of making the experience faster, smoother, and less irritating. The question of exclusives is also back on the table, although Microsoft is moving much more carefully there.

A few weeks ago, Xbox went through major leadership changes. Sarah Bond and Phil Spencer left the company, and Asha Sharma stepped in, quickly reshaping Microsoft’s gaming division. After a few months in the role, she seems to have a clearer view of what needs to be fixed, and this is not about cutting the price of Game Pass Ultimate or quietly backing away from the controversial This is Xbox campaign. Sharma has identified a more fundamental issue: players feel the console experience has not evolved enough, while the brand’s PC presence is still not as strong as it should be.

According to The Verge journalist Tom Warren, Sharma addressed her team in unusually direct terms: “We have to be honest about where we are. We have work to do. Gamers are frustrated with us: they feel we haven’t updated our console enough and that our PC presence isn’t very strong.” That line matters because large companies rarely admit the problem so plainly. Over the past few years, Xbox has often leaned on slogans and broad ecosystem talk when players wanted concrete improvements. Sharma’s message at least accepts that the community’s frustration is not just noise.

The Xbox Series X|S Change Can No Longer Wait

The planned response is a much more aggressive update schedule. According to Windows Central, Sharma instructed engineering teams to release console updates every two weeks until the end of the year. The goal is to polish “every detail and every part of the experience” so players can get to the fun faster and with fewer barriers. That may sound like standard corporate language at first, but the direction is clear enough: the Xbox Series X|S interface, system speed, navigation, and everyday usability need to feel better in practice. As an early sign of that commitment, Xbox released a major update package in late April, including a new boot animation showing the new logo.

The issue of exclusive games was also raised during a recent internal meeting. Sharma acknowledged to employees that Xbox will re-evaluate its approach to exclusivity, although sources speaking to The Verge say the company is still being careful and is not ready to commit to sweeping changes. These are being treated as long-term decisions with decade-long consequences, and Microsoft is promising a data-driven, strategic approach. The strongest example so far is Forza Horizon 5 on PlayStation 5, which has sold more than 5 million copies. At that point, it becomes hard to argue that multiplatform releases make no business sense.

That does not mean Xbox is suddenly going to abandon every exclusive title and release everything everywhere overnight. The situation is more complicated than that. Microsoft can no longer pretend the old rules of exclusivity work exactly as they once did, but surveys still show that exclusive games remain the number one reason players buy a console. A full opening of the gates would therefore carry its own risks. Sharma appears to be looking for a strategy that weighs the console business, PC, Game Pass, and revenue from rival platforms at the same time, rather than betting everything on one dramatic pivot.

The leadership structure has also changed. Xbox veteran Jason Ronald, head of Project Helix, has been promoted, while Jared Palmer, Tim Allen, and Jonathan McKay – former colleagues of Sharma from her time at CoreAI – have also joined the new setup. At first glance, that could have suggested an even heavier AI push inside the Xbox ecosystem, but Sharma has also announced the end of Copilot development for Xbox consoles. In other words, the new leadership is not rejecting AI entirely, but it is not presenting it as the magic answer either. The immediate message is simpler: the console has to be faster, easier, and less annoying to use. If Xbox can prove that through meaningful updates every two weeks, that would be more than another branding exercise. It would be actual work.

Source: 3DJuegos