Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! The new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma has some unexpected shoutouts for her favorite games of all time. Phil Spencer's successor as the head of the Xbox division is none other than the former head of Microsoft's CoreAI product who doesn't have much professional experience in the games industry, but she's trying to let everyone know that she too likes to game, fellow Gamers. Over on social media, she writes that her three favorite games ever are Halo, Valheim, and Goldeneye 007. Seems like a pretty safe PR trio - the Xbox crown jewel, a beloved indie, and an older classic. She also says it's "been a long time" since she's played arguably the most beloved JRPG of all time, Chrono Trigger. New Xbox CEO, a former Meta and Instacart exec, says "we will not chase short-term efficiency" or "soulless AI slop" Xbox president Sarah Bond speaks out after news of her Xbox departure: "I’ve decided this is the right time for me" Xbox boss Phil Spencer is leaving, and a Microsoft AI exec is taking over with president Sarah Bond also resigning And, now, speaking to Variety, Asha Sharma called out 2016's Firewatch, the walking sim about wandering a quiet forest trail made by former TellTale Games veterans (and future Half-Life Alyx devs). Asked about what makes a great game, Sharma says "deep emotional resonance" and "a distinct point of view" are what make players "feel something," just as she did while playing Firewatch. Firewatch is an interesting shoutout to me because it's not exactly a game that has a particularly loud fanbase or storied legacy. And so using it as an example doesn't seem as if she's fishing for easy gamer brownie points like many of her posts on Twitter suggest. But, still, being a dedicated gamer doesn't translate into being an uncontroversial leader of Xbox. For now, Sharma is saying all the right things, like how she won't flood the "ecosystem with soulless AI slop" and wants to recommit to Xbox hardware. Whether they'll bear fruit is another question. Here's hoping Sharma's tenure at the top of the console maker is smoother than Spencer's was. Xbox's new chief content officer Matt Booty says "there are no organizational changes underway" following abrupt leadership shakeup, which seems like a businessy way of saying no one's been canned