Xbox launches Xbox Labs to test AI agents and other new ideas in the open with players
Xbox chief Asha Sharma says the small team will share its tools with developers, and that Xbox will not “flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop”.
How this story was checked
- ResearchedWith AI assistance · 2 sources
- AI source checkEach sentence matched to its source
- Editor approvalMayank Sahu · 14 Oct, 13:29
- Published14 Oct, 13:29
In short
Xbox announced Xbox Labs on 13 October 2026, a small internal group of game makers, engineers and scientists that will test new ideas, including AI agents, in the open with players. Chief executive Asha Sharma says Xbox will share the tools it builds with developers.
What Xbox announced
Xbox announced Xbox Labs on 13 October 2026, in a memo from chief executive Asha Sharma published on Xbox Wire.1 It is described as “a small internal group of game makers, engineers, and scientists” that turns new ideas into experiences for players and developers.1
The new site, labs.xbox.com, uses the tagline “Let’s play with what’s next” and shows an early “playground” of experiments.2
What it will work on
According to Unite.AI’s summary of the memo:1
- AI agents: Sharma argues coding was the first big workload for AI agents and that games share similar traits.
- Rebuilding games for new places: the memo points to fast decompiling and rebuilding of games, such as Windows games running on Apple Silicon or in web browsers using WebAssembly and WebGPU.
- Building in the open: the team will learn from how players react, and measure success by whether more people play and create.
Xbox says it will share the tools it builds with developers across the industry.1
On AI quality
Sharma wrote that Xbox will not “chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop”, according to Unite.AI.1 She said Xbox’s priorities, including its games, hardware and care for its franchises and communities, are unchanged.1
Who is behind it
Sharma became head of Microsoft’s gaming business in February 2026, after leading product for Microsoft’s AI tools and app infrastructure.1
What is not known
Which experiments will be released first, and when.
Fact ledger
How labels workQuestions readers ask
What is Xbox Labs?
A small Xbox team of game makers, engineers and scientists that will test new ideas, including AI agents, openly with players.
Will Xbox use AI to make games?
The memo says Xbox will explore AI agents but will not flood its ecosystem with low-quality AI content.
Can developers use the tools?
Xbox says it will share the tools it builds with developers across the industry.