Microsoft Brings AI Executives Into Xbox to Reverse Sales Decline
Microsoft is restructuring Xbox's leadership with executives from its AI division as the gaming unit faces mounting pressure. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who took the role in February, announced the overhaul in an internal memo, bringing four leaders from her former CoreAI group into the division.
Xbox console sales dropped 33% year-over-year in Microsoft's latest earnings report. The company also forecast additional declines for Game Pass subscriptions and console sales in the current quarter.
Sharma said the division needs to fix how it operates. "Right now, it is too hard to ship impact quickly. We spend too much time inward instead of with the community, and we lack the depth we need in some of the fundamentals," she said in the memo.
The CoreAI executives bring what Sharma described as "consumer and technical expertise Xbox does not yet have." The division is also hiring David Schloss, a former Instacart growth executive, to lead subscription and cloud services.
What This Means for Sales Teams
For sales professionals, this restructuring signals Microsoft's recognition that Xbox needs faster execution and closer alignment with customer needs. The emphasis on "spending time with the community" rather than internal processes suggests a shift toward market-driven decision-making.
Bringing in executives with growth experience from outside gaming-particularly from consumer-focused companies like Instacart-indicates Microsoft may be rethinking how it sells and markets its services. This could affect pricing strategy, customer acquisition, and how subscription offerings are packaged and sold.
The leadership changes come as Microsoft faces real revenue headwinds, not theoretical concerns. How quickly these new executives can reverse declining sales will determine whether this restructuring succeeds.
Your membership also unlocks:
