Xbox scraps Microsoft Copilot in yet another win for new CEO Asha Sharma

A lot of people doubted new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma. There were swirling questions about her AI background; about whether she was even interested in games, and whether she was the right woman for the job. Yet, it feels like she scores a new W every single day. The focus has been on rebranding Xbox and tapping back into the community that knows and loves its games. Now, she's confirmed that Xbox is no longer developing Microsoft Copilot for consoles and mobile. The Ws just keep rolling in.

In a May 5 X post, Sharma doubles down on her plans to "deepen [Xbox's] connection with the community," noting that the company needs to "address friction for both players and developers. Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business back on track."

As a result, Xbox will "begin to retire features that don't align with where [it's] headed." First on the chopping block is Microsoft's AI help tool, Copilot, with Sharma confirming: "We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console."

This is a huge switch. The AI debate continues to dominate the videogame and tech spheres, with Google Cloud's Global Director of Games, Jack Buser, praising the technology not two weeks ago. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been vocal in his support of AI, while former Blizzard Vice President and Overwatch icon, Jeff Kaplan, has likened AI scraping to "stealing."

More generally, the use of AI tech in games is consistently being met with negative responses, with Crimson Desert, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and EA Sports FC 26 all coming under fire for their use of AI. Despite concerns, high-tier developers still seem intent on utilizing the technology, with Roblox showcasing its AI-powered upscaling tool, Roblox Reality, a few days ago.

Xbox's decision to remove Copilot is a huge statement, then. Not only does it appear to fly in the face of what Microsoft has done before (CoD is under the Xbox banner now, after all), it also makes it stand out from rivals who are continuing to embrace the tech. Does it mean we won't see any more AI art in our games? That's uncertain: Copilot is an adjacent tool that can be easily wound down, with Xbox having full authority over it. Studios operating under the Xbox banner may continue to use AI in their development, but either way, Sharma's announcement is still significant.

I personally appreciate her ongoing transparency: it does feel, in many ways, like she's actually listening to the gaming community - to us. I'm sure some will argue it's just lip service and empty promises, but I'm a little more optimistic. Another AI has bit the dust, and that's good news to me.