May 5, 2026
Game over for the AI sidekick?
Xbox CEO ends Copilot AI development and overhauls leadership
Xbox dumps its AI sidekick as fans ask: too late to save this mess?
TLDR: Xbox’s new CEO is killing its Copilot AI plans on phones and consoles while bringing in new leaders to turn the business around. Fans are split between hopeful and furious, with many saying the real problem isn’t AI — it’s that Xbox stopped listening to players a long time ago.
Xbox’s new boss, Asha Sharma, has barely settled into the big chair and she’s already swinging the axe. She confirmed Xbox is shutting down Copilot, Microsoft’s catch-all AI helper, on mobile and scrapping it for consoles entirely, while also reshuffling leadership in a bid to stop falling revenue. On paper, it’s a classic “new sheriff in town” moment. In the comments, though? Absolute side-eye, confusion, and a little cautious hope.
The biggest reaction was basically: wait, what even was Xbox Copilot? One commenter joked that Microsoft has slapped the Copilot name on so many things that nobody can keep track anymore. That confusion turned into a bigger hot take: if gamers already dislike AI features in games, was this doomed from the start? Others framed the whole move as simple money math — why keep building features people don’t want and won’t pay for? Sharma says Xbox needs to move faster and listen to its community more, and commenters were quick to reply with a brutal: you should have done that years ago.
The spiciest drama came from fed-up fans who say Xbox has ignored players since the Series X launch, with one person practically delivering a eulogy for their console and declaring Steam, the giant PC game store, the winner. Still, not everyone brought pitchforks: one hopeful voice said the shake-up “sounds promising.” That leaves the mood at Xbox: part reboot, part roast session, part “prove it.”
Key Points
- •Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the company will wind down Copilot on mobile and stop development of Copilot for console.
- •Sharma’s memo to staff said Xbox needs to move faster, spend less time inwardly, and get closer to its community while addressing declining revenue.
- •Four executives from Microsoft’s CoreAI organization and related roles are joining Xbox in senior positions, including Jared Palmer, Tim Allen, Jonathan McKay, Evan Chaki, and David Schloss.
- •Veteran Microsoft executives Kevin Gammill is leaving, and Roanne Sones will take a leave of absence before moving into an advisory role.
- •Since becoming CEO in February after Phil Spencer’s retirement, Sharma has also cut Game Pass Ultimate pricing and teased a new Xbox partnership with Discord.