Xbox CEO looks to the future as Microsoft's console turns 25: 'A single person will soon be able to wield capabilities that once required entire nations'
Asha Sharma doesn't specifically mention AI in her 25th anniversary message, but I'm pretty sure that's what she's talking about.
On the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox console, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reflects on the future of gaming. Sharma likens the potential of a small team with a big idea in gaming to what once seemed impossible. She highlights how the cost and resources needed to create modern games have increased significantly, often leading to many ideas never becoming games.
Sharma believes that the relationship between the scale of creation and the people, capital, and resources required to make it is starting to change. She predicts that a single person will soon have capabilities that once took entire nations to achieve. Sharma suggests that a small team can now build worlds that require the resources of hundreds of developers and millions of dollars.
The rise in game development costs is evident, as seen with the Starflight game made by five individuals and its modern descendant, Mass Effect: Andromeda, which credits 14 people for audio design alone. Microsoft CEO Strauss Zelnick described big-budget game development as "a high-stakes game for big boys only," with the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 rumored to cost billions.
Sharma acknowledges the ethical and artistic concerns surrounding AI in game development, but she emphasizes the potential for a small team to accomplish what currently takes hundreds of people, potentially leading to a future where a few individuals can create groundbreaking games.
Written by urgent.news from PC Gamer's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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