Xbox Revolution: with Gaming Copilot's Discontinuation, Everything Changes in Strategy

Microsoft's gaming division has decided to halt the development and distribution of Gaming Copilot, the AI-based assistant intended to support gamers on Xbox. After a testing phase that lasted several months and an initial release launched in September 2025, the project is no longer among the company's strategic priorities.

The decision was communicated by the new CEO of the gaming division, Asha Sharma, who explained that the change is part of a broader internal reorganization process. The declared goal is to make Xbox more responsive, strengthen the relationship with the community, and reduce the difficulties faced by both players and developers. In this context, some features considered misaligned with the new direction will be gradually eliminated.

Excited to share that I'm joining @Xbox as VP, Engineering & Technical Advisor to CEO @asha_shar I'll be focused on building world-class tools, services, and experiences for developers and players across the Xbox ecosystem. Grateful for the opportunity and excited to get to...

Gaming Copilot Announcement
-- Jared Palmer (@jaredpalmer)
May 5, 2026

Gaming Copilot was conceived as a tool capable of offering assistance during gaming sessions, for instance, helping to overcome challenging moments or providing information about the titles in use. However, despite the ongoing development of the Copilot ecosystem in other areas of the company, the gaming-specific version will not continue its path on consoles and mobile devices.

According to Sharma, the service will be gradually disabled within the Xbox app for smartphones, while the development of the console version will be completely halted. The communication also confirmed significant changes in the leadership of the Xbox division.

Indeed, Asha Sharma announced a major strengthening of the Xbox management team, with the aim of renewing the internal structure and improving the operational effectiveness of the platform. The communication took place through an internal note, in which the CEO highlighted the necessity of a profound change, also in response to recent financial results.

Among the new figures included are several professionals from the CoreAI group. Jared Palmer will enter the technical sector with responsibilities related to product, engineering, and infrastructure. Tim Allen will be in charge of leading design, while Jonathan McKay will assume the role of head of growth, leveraging his previous experiences at OpenAI and Meta.