Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says "We're long on gaming"

This past week, incoming CEO Asha Sharma was joined by Microsoft top CEO Satya Nadella in an internal Q&A to discuss Microsoft's top-down vision for gaming. Donned with an Xbox hoodie, it was honestly refreshing to hear Satya Nadella speak so positively on the Xbox division. We verified the transcript of the Q&A with multiple sources. Here's what was said.

Asha Sharma introduced Satya Nadella, who remarked about his happiness to be there. He also noted how when he initially came on as Microsoft CEO, there were similar doubts about his knowledge on cloud and infrastructure — before he led Microsoft towards being a global leader in the space. He also noted that gaming remains one of Microsoft's biggest capital investments, representing a long-term view of its role within Microsoft.

"There are core identities in this company. I don't think Microsoft will exist without these identities continuing to thrive. We're a platform company, a developer company. Being a knowledge worker company, and gaming. These are the main identities of what Microsoft has always meant, and will always mean. Therefore, we need to take that — we don't take it for granted. We need to renew it. I'm really thankful to Matt [Booty] and Phil [Spencer] and Sarah [Bond], and all of you who have built this franchise into its 25th year."

Sharma thanked Satya for the opportunity, and noted Xbox's uniqueness. She hailed the Xbox team, calling them "incredible," noting that that over 10% of the Xbox team had been there for over twenty years. She said it emphasized Microsoft's long-term mindset, reiterating Nadella's comments on being "long on gaming," and asked him to elaborate on that point.

"Frankly this applies to anything that we do. We should be in the core of what we do here for gaming's sake. It's not about anything other than being just an excellent company, and an excellent steward for what it means to produce great games, produce great systems and hardware."

Nadella emphasized gaming's legacy and influence on Microsoft and the wider technology stack, talking up how gaming has served as an accelerator for cloud, Windows, the GPU-based server tech revolution, and beyond. But he also said that doesn't mean moving away from what people expect of gaming, and explained why Microsoft will "always" continue to invest in gaming.