Shannon Loftis, the former director of World’s Edge, has publicly criticised Xbox CEO Asha Sharma following the company’s latest round of layoffs and restructuring. Loftis took aim at Sharma’s recent comments about leadership and clarity in a post addressing the changes at Xbox.
Loftis referenced Sharma’s statement that “clarity is kindness”, writing, “Super funny that Asha Sharma said “clarity is kindness” to the WSJ last week then did a half layoff today. I guess Damocles’ Sword is a form of clarity, what do I know?” Loftis followed up by directly addressing Sharma, writing, “Please, Asha, publish more “cool” photos from your Japan Kojima-maxxing trip. That’s the kind of leadership game developers need.”
The comments come as Xbox undergoes a major restructuring involving thousands of job cuts and changes to its internal studio structure. The company is cutting approximately 3,200 roles, alongside changes involving teams including Playground Games, Turn 10, Halo and Sea of Thieves.
As part of the restructuring, stewardship of Halo and Sea of Thieves is being shifted under Activision, while Obsidian is being integrated into Bethesda.
