Because the winter season is sort of over and spring approaches, many modifications are showing in each the pure world and the gaming trade.
Many gaming milestones will likely be reached in late February and early March, together with the sport’s thirtieth anniversary. resident evil and pokemon Lengthy-awaited recreation releases like Bungie marathon reboot.
However within the gaming trade, as a founder and CEO, a variety of issues are developed behind the scenes. ARC RaidersEmbark Studios’ Patrick Soderlund was not too long ago named government chairman of Nexon, whereas Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer not too long ago introduced his retirement and his alternative with Asha Sharma.
Whereas each of those executives have backgrounds within the gaming trade, their backgrounds are very completely different and will level to a probably dramatic future for Nexon, Embark Studios, and Xbox as a complete.
Careers of Patrick Soderlund and Asha Sharma
Patrick Soderlund could also be finest identified to at the moment’s players for his work on hit extraction shooter video games. ARC Raidershowever in actuality, he has performed key roles at a number of the gaming trade’s largest and most profitable publishers and improvement studios over the previous few many years.
In 2013, Soderlund was named government vp of Digital Arts’ Worldwide Studios, the place he oversaw PC and console improvement for quite a few titles, together with: Star Wars: The Previous Republic, want for velocity, Dragon Age: Inquisitionand lots of extra.
Lengthy earlier than taking up this position, Soderlynd was a co-founder after which CEO of DICE till the Swedish developer was acquired by EA in 2006, however continued to play key roles in numerous areas. battlefield video games and many others. Battlefield: Unhealthy Firm, battlefield 1and Battlefield VEarlier than leaving EA in 2018.
Founder and CEO of ARC RaidersPatrick Soderlund of Embark Studios was not too long ago appointed Government Chairman of Nexon.
That very same 12 months, Soderlund and several other different former DICE staff based Embark Studios, however by 2021 the younger studio was acquired by South Korean recreation writer Nexon, with the writer’s purpose of gaining a foothold within the Western video games market.
Since then, Soderlund and Embark have launched two extremely profitable multiplayer-focused video games in 2023. closing match And in 2025 ARC RaidersThe latter’s success led Nexon to nominate Soderlund as government chairman, overseeing the writer’s artistic route and technique.
Sharma named CEO of Microsoft Gaming
As compared, Asha Sharma’s profession has been much less identified for gaming experience and improvement and extra expertise within the logistics, advertising, and analysis facet of the enterprise.
Sharma’s historical past with Microsoft dates again to 2011, when he labored in advertising for the corporate and in 2013 served as chief artistic officer of software program and insurance coverage platform Porch Group, COO of Instacart, and vp of product and engineering for Meta.
It wasn’t till 2024 that Sharma returned to Microsoft as president of software program firm CoreAI Merchandise, the place she oversaw the event of synthetic intelligence applied sciences and companies equivalent to Azure AI, earlier than being not too long ago appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming with Phil Spencer’s blessing.
The way forward for Nexon and Xbox
Primarily based on Soderlund’s background, having overseen the event of dozens of primarily multiplayer-oriented video games, and the small print behind Nexon’s acquisition of Embark, it appears possible that Nexon will pivot additional into Western multiplayer recreation improvement.
Whereas ARC Raiders will possible obtain long-term assist, Embark itself battlefield, marathonand name of responsibilityEmbark’s two unannounced tasks are prone to be revealed, or at the very least defined in a bit extra element, at an upcoming Nexon Capital Markets briefing.
Xbox, against this, might face a little bit of an uphill battle with this management change since Sharma has little expertise in recreation advertising not to mention recreation improvement, however she will likely be supported by Matt Booty, a veteran recreation developer, former head of Xbox Sport Studios, and newly appointed Microsoft Gaming COO.
Regardless of this lack of expertise and a controversial historical past with AI, Sharma wrote that he’s devoted to growing nice video games, restoring Xbox to its former glory, and inventing new methods to play in a quickly altering gaming surroundings, going as far as to say, “…we have now no intention of chasing short-term efficiencies or flooding the ecosystem with soulless AI slop.”