Xbox Scandal: New CEO Advises Government on Price Stability While Executing Mass Layoffs and Game Price Hikes

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fresh off her coronation as Xbox's boss, Sharma has joined a federal advisory committee on price stability and employment - while simultaneously overseeing massive layoffs and price hikes at Xbox. It's like putting the head of a hospital-closing corporation in charge of healthcare. Too bad her first months on the job look more like a forest clearance than worker protection.

Key facts in brief

• Asha Sharma (Xbox CEO) joins federal advisory committee on price stability and employment.
• Xbox lays off 3,200 workers under cost-cutting measures, including 1,600 immediately and another 1,600 by year-end.
• Xbox raises prices on some games - now you'll pay up to 449 PLN for AAA titles.
• Bethesda employees organize protests against mass layoffs.

Asha Sharma's appointment to a federal advisory committee on price stability and employment comes at a particularly ironic time for Xbox. While the new CEO is supposed to be advising on economic policy, her company is in the midst of massive layoffs and price hikes that seem to contradict those very principles. The gaming industry has long been considered recession-proof, but recent events at Xbox suggest even giants aren't immune to economic pressures.

In the name of 'streamlining operations', Xbox conducted massive layoffs - 3,200 positions, including 1,600 immediate cuts and another 1,600 by the end of Microsoft's fiscal year. Tears flowed as brands like Activision, Blizzard and Bethesda got the axe. And as part of their 'consumer-friendly' policy, Xbox just raised prices on new AAA games - you'll now pay 449 PLN for hits like 'Avowed' or 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II'.

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