Jul 10, 2026
Video game executives don’t usually get tapped to help the Federal Reserve, but Asha Sharma, CEO of Microsoft’s Xbox division was announced Thursday as a member of one of the Fed’s task forces, which will focus on productivity and jobs.
That announcement comes just days after Sharma announced the immediate dismissal of 1,600 workers in the Xbox division, with another 1,600 cuts expected in the coming months. The cuts this week represent a staff reduction of 20% for Xbox.
Advertisement
Fed chair Kevin Warsh has asked the task force Sharma will serve on to look at how emerging technologies affect the broader economy, helping to shape future monetary policies.
Thanks for subscribing!
The money news that actually matters.
By signing up, you accept Moneywise Terms of Use, Subscription Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
“Survey the pace, the reach [and] the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including AI, and explore the implications for the Fed in pursuit of our employment and inflation mandates,” said Warsh when describing the task force.
An AI stacked panel
Sharma has a background in AI. Before taking over the Xbox division, she was the head of Microsoft’s Core AI product division, overseeing product strategy for Azure AI and Copilot. Some of her other previous roles include stints as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at Meta.
She is joined on the task force by a pair of AI’s biggest evangelists: Charles I Jones, a Stanford economics professor who is currently on sabbatical at Anthropic, and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has bet heavily on AI companies). That firm has earmarked $1.7 billion for an AI infrastructure fund.
(Andreessen has also been a prominent supporter and major donor to Donald Trump and served as an advisor to the Department of Government Efficiency.)
This is one of four task forces launched by the Fed. Others will focus on balance sheet policy, data sources and inflation frameworks.
“Each task force will serve an objective shared by everyone in the System … a Federal Reserve that is clear-eyed about its mission, fit for purpose and focused on the future,” said Warsh.
Must Read
- The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100
- Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?
- Insurance companies profit most from drivers who auto-renew without shopping around. Comparing 100+ quotes takes 2 minutes and costs nothing
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Split focus?
Sharma’s appointment to the Fed task force comes as she faces a massive job righting the ship at Xbox. Once a leader in the console space, the brand has become bloated due to multiple acquisitions and is currently racking up massive losses due, in part, to a failed bet on game streaming.
Advertisement
The company has not given updated hardware sales numbers for years, but analysts say it is far behind PlayStation, with some estimates showing it has sold just over one-third the number of PS5s sold this generation.
In announcing the layoffs, Sharma also came under fire for her expectations for the division’s growth, which most people familiar with the video game industry say are overly ambitious, at best.
“I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect,” she wrote. “I know we can achieve this goal.”
To put that number in comparison, Roblox, one of the most popular games around, currently has approximately 150 million daily active users. And Steam, the leading PC distribution platform, boasts roughly 69 million daily users.
“[Video games are] not a business Microsoft needs to be in, or should be in,” DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria told CNBC. “It is very possible that they will spin it off at some point.”
You May Also Like
- JP Morgan sees gold hitting $6,000/oz before 2027 — and a Gold IRA lets you hold the physical metal while deferring the tax bill. Get your free guide from Priority Gold
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and the simple steps to fix it ASAP
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the internet's biggest news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent panel moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
