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.
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.
