Ever feel like your boss is posting vacation pics while you're drowning in work? That's the vibe at Xbox right now. CEO Asha Sharma jetted off to Japan to hang with Hideo Kojima at Kojima Productions, and the timing couldn't be worse. Microsoft's gaming division is in the middle of massive restructuring, with layoffs planned for 3,200 jobs. Ouch.
Sharma's trip wasn't just for fun—she was there to check out the studio and celebrate the news that Microsoft is now publishing Physint, a Kojima game that Sony dropped. Photos of her visit went up right as the layoff announcements started rolling out. Talk about awkward.
Former World's Edge studio head Shannon Loftis didn't hold back. In a Threads post, she wrote: "Super funny that Asha Sharma said 'Clarity is kindness' to the WSJ last week then did a half layoff today. I guess Damocles' Sword is a form of clarity, what do I know?" Loftis, who ran the Age of Empires studio until 2022, was reacting to a Wall Street Journal profile where Sharma explained her philosophy of delivering bad news straight. Sure, being direct can be kind, but it's hard to see the kindness when your job's on the line.
The axe reportedly fell on World's Edge this week, with layoffs leaking out on social media. Loftis also posted on LinkedIn, saying she's "crushed" for her former colleagues. "I do not know of everyone that has been impacted by today's news, but I can guarantee these people know how to ship games and make gamers happy," she wrote. Then she added on Threads: "Please, Asha, publish more 'cool' photos from your Japan Kojima-maxxing trip. That's the kind of leadership game developers need." Ouch.
You can imagine how the devs who just lost their jobs feel seeing their CEO posing with Kojima. It's a serious whiplash moment. But let's be real: Sharma's job isn't to win a popularity contest. She's trying to pull Xbox out of a hole. Scoring a Kojima project is a headline win, and maybe it'll pay off down the line.
Still, the contrast between the Japan trip and the layoffs is stark. Xbox is clearly in a rough spot, and leadership's public moves are under a microscope. Will this Kojima deal actually help turn things around? Only time will tell.
What do you think—does Sharma's trip show smart business or tone-deaf leadership? Sound off in the comments.
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