the public image of xbox’s new female leader, asha sharma, is beginning to shift—from initial criticism that she knows nothing about gaming and was parachuted into the role thanks to her ties to microsoft’s ceo, to now being hailed by players as “sister dong.”
since taking over as xbox ceo from phil spencer this past march, asha sharma has been busy getting things done. she first unveiled the first details of the next-generation xbox, and more recently acknowledged that the current game pass pricing is too high, hinting at the possibility of a price cut and reigniting discussions about returning to xbox exclusives.
subsequently, the foreign media outlet the verge revealed that asha sharma has learned that xbox’s current situation is in a state of chaos: dozens of interfaces, distribution channels, and release models, yet no shared codebase or unified data infrastructure. as a result, she plans to make deeper investments than ever before in xbox’s platform infrastructure to create a more interconnected experience, enhancing content discovery, relevance, and social features.
asha sharma has publicly stated on multiple occasions that she is “working hard to listen and learn from industry veterans.” now it appears she is fulfilling that promise—and her first mentor happens to be shawn layden, former president of sony interactive entertainment during playstation’s golden age.
as a former sie executive, layden served successively as president of sony computer entertainment japan (sie japan) and as president and ceo of sony interactive entertainment (sie), spanning the final years of both the ps3 and ps4 generations. during these two eras, layden witnessed sweeping changes in the gaming industry—changes that have gradually shaped today’s industry landscape, not only for playstation but for the entire gaming sector.
shawn layden stepped down in 2019, but he has never left the gaming world; instead, he has consistently shared his views on the current state of the industry. it was precisely layden’s recent critique of game pass that prompted asha sharma to seek him out for a conversation.
after a memo outlining asha sharma’s plan to lower game pass prices was leaked, shawn layden offered some rather sharp criticisms of game pass, calling its “diagnosis unfavorable and its outlook bleak,” while adding that the entire industry would benefit from “clarifying the facts afterward.”
according to gamereactor, in response to a post by gaming industry analyst joost van dreunen, layden commented on xbox and xbox game pass: “despite the unfavorable diagnosis and poor prognosis, they are still doing everything they can to help the patient recover. a clear autopsy report would be beneficial for the entire industry.”
surprisingly, just a few days ago, asha sharma responded to layden—simply stating that she would “be happy to set up a time” to discuss his views with the former playstation executive.
clearly, asha sharma is eager to hear a wide range of perspectives on xbox—undoubtedly a positive sign for the brand’s future development. she appears to be conducting a comprehensive survey from every angle, striving to fully understand how people feel—whether positively or negatively—and this should ultimately help her launch even better products down the line.
that said, the foreign media outlet pure xbox points out that xbox game pass is not yet at the point where it needs a “post-mortem analysis.” if it were to disappear altogether, that would be a real shame.
