Who is Asha Sharma, anyway?
Xbox's new CEO has business experience in everything from insurance, home improvement, and grocery delivery, to Meta products, AI, and even a previous stint on Xbox.
Here's a primer on her career trajectory and experiences to date, which may inform what happens next.
Huge Win 🙌
I told my grandma Phil Spencer retired and she started sobbing. Through the cascade of tears rolling down her face and hyperventilating she muttered “Co-Pilot please draft an email thanking Phil for his brave service in the console wars”
She then died. Her ashes sprinkled at a data center nearby
Wild that Sony bought Bluepoint Games in 2021 AFTER Demon's Souls, and is now shutting them down with zero new games put out since. They canceled a live service-game they were working on earlier this year.
That failed live-service push from Sony continues to have major consequences.
Reviewed that Quarantine Zone game and did not have a fun time. Check out the full review for the fully formed thoughts on it.
thisweekinvideogames.com/review/quara...
This is me with Persona 4. I applaud this behavior 👏👏
chatted with Ubisoft and Konami devs about Solid Snake in Rainbow Six Siege and wrote about it! www.gamespot.com/articles/how...
firewatch sunset
spent the day writing about my favorite doomed relationship and love in games and real life. this one's a little all over the place
happy valentines day, firewatch is for yearners www.underleveled.xyz/firewatch-is...
Got a absolute killer long read on @thisweekinvideogames.com for the weekend:
@sambarsanti.bsky.social dives deep into the communities convinced there's "one last mystery" left to solve in Red Dead Redemption 2, speaks to one of the main sleuths, and ties it all back to Ed Harris in Westworld.
Finally, a Witcher game where you play as Dandelion.
@maddie-b-a.bsky.social talks to developer @nerial.bsky.social about how Reigns: The Witcher uses the swipey narrative strategy format to play with the lore of the Witcher universe, and about Geralt's hypothetical prospects on Tinder.
More showing up for good people’s work and more telling your favorite creators their shit is good when they post it
@platanoranger.bsky.social stays making incredible work, this review is no exception.
"A crazed infected doctor is swinging a chainsaw... Leon, ever the joker, doesn’t yell, doesn’t scream, and is in fact very calm as he disdainfully looks at the zombie doctor, uttering:
'I think I want a second opinion.'"
Here's @superdonk.bsky.social on three hours with Resident Evil Requiem:
I spent the weekend trying to process what's happening in my city of Minneapolis, Minnesota by creating this video. youtu.be/W1dyNcRGRXY
One of the perks of financially supporting This Week in Videogames, besides sustaining truly independent, ad-free games coverage, is that you get the semi-regular chance to ask the Skill Up and TWIV crew anything you want.
Here's the first edition of the TWIV Mailbag! [Paywalled]
Real-life young person @maddie-b-a.bsky.social is tired of commentators using Gen Z as a scapegoat for the rise of AI slop, and tired of those using the demographic as a reason to keep churning it out.
"Let's level with each other — no one likes being told what they think less than young people."
a list of google folders, from "test episodes" to season 1 (2022) to season 5 (2026)
feels wild to make this Google folder, ngl
We're looking for a News Editor to join TWIV. Ideal candidate would have proven experience with:
- Working in news for a games outlet
- Conducting original reporting
- Mentoring junior writers
...and genuinely enjoy writing news, diving deep, and talking to people. UK timezone preferred. Email me.
I'm increasingly horrified by what I see happening around me and often feel powerless. But there are so many ways to resist.
These are my thoughts on fighting back in one way I know how: With indies.
For our Best of 2025 series, we asked staff to share their favourite game experiences of the year (and they didn’t necessarily need to be new).
@superdonk.bsky.social, who’s always playing something unexpected, shares the games that both made new memories and evoked those of days gone by.
Patrick Dane, longtime games and entertainment journalist and News Editor at This Week in Videogames, has died in a motor vehicle accident. He was 34 years old.
Not a traditional GOTY list by any means, but a short list of some things I loved playing this year!
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/stu-...
I spoke to a dozen professional concept artists working in games about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs easier, even if it's just used in "very early ideation stages."
Zero said "yes." Most said it made their job harder.
I learnt a lot about concept artists. You should too!
You've probably already seen it and sorry I can't/won't get back to every single tag, but I was among those that spoke to Edmond about the nature of concept art and the influence of AI
Thank you so much again @edmondtran.bsky.social for the opportunity and giving us a voice
__
(yes that is Fritz)
We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier.
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Hey, we're nominated for this. Please do go in and vote. A vote for us is obviously deeply appreciated, and I love the work we do, but honestly, just voting for anyone and supporting games media is just a cool thing to do. 🫡
Please tell your friends about this show (we’ve worked very hard on it)
The greatest squad in the JW lobby 🫶
