Former Microsoft game publishing vice president Ed Fries believes the new Xbox leadership is well-positioned for success, despite concerns over CEO Asha Sharma's lack of gaming experience. In an interview with GamesBeat, Fries compared the dynamic between Sharma and Matt Booty to his own past working relationship with Robbie Bach, where one focused on content and games while the other handled business and corporate strategy.
Fries emphasized that Booty, who has deep gaming industry experience, will complement Sharma's background in communications and AI. He noted that this division of labor works as long as both sides respect each other's expertise. "Matt is really good at what he does. Asha doesn’t seem to have any real game experience, but that was true when I worked for Robbie, too," Fries said.
Drawing on his own history at Microsoft, Fries argued that corporate navigation and protecting the Xbox division from larger company demands are crucial tasks, and Sharma's business acumen can help. He shared that people who worked with her early in her career already saw her potential. This echoes sentiments from Windows Central's Jez Corden, who pointed out that Sharma's experience building scalable systems like Facebook Messenger could drive Xbox brand growth.