Xbox chief executive officer Asha Sharma went from being the new face of Team Green, leading the platform into a new era, to being no different from the last in the eyes of players in the blink of an eye. After making Game Pass cheaper, re-centering console hardware and bringing exclusives back, Xbox fans praised her quick action and transparency. Now, however, with multiple studios reportedly being closed and more mass layoffs looming, she and her regime are no different from Spencer's. Industry veteran and analyst Joost van Dreunen calls it "the job she was actually hired to do": making Xbox smaller, as it had grown too much.
Van Dreunen's name is one you've likely seen on Wccftech before, as we've previously covered the long-time analyst and video games industry veteran's newsletter, SuperJoost Playlist, before on multiple issues. His latest newsletter, titled 'Sharma's next 100 days,' digs into some of the realities Xbox is facing, and also highlights what others first highlighted when Sharma was hired.
"Now, after her first 100 days as the new boss, Sharma is gearing up for the job she was actually hired to do: whip Xbox back into shape," van Dreunen writes. He also calls the current state of the industry as in a period of a "disruption cycle," rather than a "content cycle." The latter rewards big hits, while the former rewards those who can make their products and processes cheaper and more accessible. Part of navigating that state for Xbox clearly means sweeping mass layoffs like the ones they've done the last few years, like clockwork.
These layoffs may have gotten fans to turn on Sharma on a dime, but they're also what many industry onlookers have been expecting for a while now. Xbox founder and creator Seamus Blackley claimed that Sharma's job "is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night," when she was announced as the new CEO earlier this year.
While the first 100 days were about trying to prove those kinds of concerns as misplaced, these layoffs spit in the face of that. Yes, the Xbox business is not in a healthy place, something Sharma noted very directly in her recent message to the entire Xbox division, but no one is going to believe that a company like Microsoft is hurting for cash. Its leaders could keep everyone on if they wanted to, and Xbox would still barely make a dent in the company's operating budget. However, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been clear: the parent company has invested enough in Xbox through the division's first 25 years, and now it's time for it to become self-sustaining.
That said, losing the incredibly talented people who actually make the games people may want to play on a platform is not a path for success, especially not the long-term success Microsoft claims it wants Xbox to have.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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