Science & Tech · AI · 14 hrs ago
Xbox CEO says AI could help small teams make ambitious games
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma outlined a future for gaming in a message marking 25 years since the first Xbox launched.
She says modern games show great creative skill, but their rising costs and risks leave ideas unrealised.
Sharma predicts that one person may soon have capabilities once held by nations, while small teams could build worlds that now take hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars.
She did not name artificial intelligence, but her comments are widely understood as pointing to AI.
Xbox has already launched Xbox Labs, an experiment with AI-assisted game creation, and Sharma has said she will not accept poor-quality AI or flood Xbox with soulless games.
The shift matters because it could change who can make big games and how studios work, while questions remain about AI’s effects on creative work and the industry.
Xbox will continue funding large productions such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Forza, alongside its AI efforts.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said smaller teams may soon be able to create games that now require hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars.
She made the remarks in a message marking the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox.
Sharma did not explicitly mention artificial intelligence, but both GameSpot and PC Gamer interpreted her comments as referring to AI.
She said the rising costs and risks of game development mean too many ideas never become games, and called for change.
PC Gamer questioned whether an AI-powered future with far fewer people making games would be desirable.
- Who
- Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
- What
- She said individuals and small teams may gain the ability to make games that currently require much larger teams and budgets.
- When
- November 12, 2026, in a message marking Xbox’s 25th anniversary.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Sharma said the costs, resources and risks of making modern games have grown, leaving too many ideas unrealized.
Asha Sharma
Skeptics of AI-driven game development
Game-making capacity
Asha Sharma
Sharma said a small team will be able to build worlds that now require hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Skeptics of AI-driven game development
PC Gamer questioned whether it is desirable for AI to let one person or a few people do work that currently takes hundreds.
The case for change
Asha Sharma
Sharma said the costs, resources and risks of making games have grown, and that too many ideas never become games.
Skeptics of AI-driven game development
PC Gamer raised concerns about ethics, artistic vision and the long-term future of the games industry.
The first entry in Microsoft Flight Simulator was released, according to Sharma’s comparison.
The original Xbox was released.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 represented the modern comparison in Sharma’s message.
Sharma shared a message marking Xbox’s 25th anniversary and discussed the future of game development.
- Xbox anniversary
- 25th anniversary
- Original Xbox
- Released in 2001
- Small-team scale
- Hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars are currently required for the worlds Sharma described
- Flight Simulator comparison
- First entry in 1982; modern edition cited was Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
- Xbox CEO
- Asha Sharma
5 sources
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What people are saying
A small team will be able to build worlds that today demand hundreds of developers and hundreds of millions of dollars.
A single person will soon be able to wield capabilities that once required entire nations.
We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.
Our responsibility is to deliver great games, unmistakable hardware, and give more people the chance to make something the world has never seen.