by 
With Asha Sharma making a bunch of well-received moves ever since her appointment as Xbox CEO, there's definitely been a feeling that the perception around the brand is becoming more positive, and a new report is backing that up.
The folks over at YouGov are saying that Xbox is "gaining momentum" in multiple ways right now, including in terms of "whether consumers are hearing positive or negative things about a brand", in terms of "the percentage of people who have talked about a brand with friends or family", and in terms of "value and satisfaction".
Here are some excerpts:
"Buzz score, which is a net measure of whether consumers are hearing positive or negative things about a brand, helps us gauge whether XBOX’s recent headlines are landing with this core audience. Among U.S. gamers, XBOX’s Buzz score has risen sharply since Sharma took over, climbing from 8.5 points on February 20, 2026, to 20 points on May 20."
"Satisfaction also improved over the period, rising from 17.8 on February 20 to 22.3 on May 20. Like Value, it reached a higher point in early May, peaking at 25.0 on May 5. This suggests that XBOX’s recent moves may not only be reshaping perceptions among potential customers but also improving how existing customers feel about their experience with the brand."
There's a whole lot more to check out in the report itself, including graphs that show how each of these categories have grown over time, and it concludes that "the early signs are encouraging" for Asha Sharma's reign at Xbox.
"For XBOX, the early signs are encouraging. The brand is being talked about more positively, its value proposition appears stronger, and more PC and console gamers now say they would consider it."
This'll no doubt be music to the CEO's ears, although she reportedly told employees last week that her team will still need to make "hard choices about what we build" in the future as part of their attempt to "build a stronger Xbox".
Even so, it's impressive how Asha Sharma has managed to win over so many people in such a short time, especially considering there was controversy around her AI background and lack of gaming experience when initially taking the job. It's obviously still early days, but the CEO seems to be saying and doing all the right things so far.
With that in mind, has your perception around Xbox changed recently? Are you feeling more positive than you were at the start of 2026? We'll throw a poll down below, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section too.