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| Xbox manager Brandon Stirrup spoke unusually openly on X about the use of artificial intelligence in the gaming industry. |
An Xbox senior business strategy manager has deactivated his X account less than 24 hours after openly admitting Microsoft uses AI in game development—and saying developers who don't embrace it "should not be in the business of being a business."
Brandon Stirrup, Senior Business Strategy Manager at Microsoft, sparked controversy over the weekend with a candid thread on X about AI in game development. According to Notebookcheck, Stirrup claimed he "vibe coded a bad but improvable game" in just two days—spending only about three hours of active work—and argued that anyone can now build a game with AI assistance.
His account has since disappeared from the platform.
What Stirrup Said About AI in Game Development
Stirrup didn't hold back. In his thread, he stated that "gaming is the only industry slow-walking the transition because users have negative sentiment. Everyone else accepts reality." He went further, saying developers and studios not incorporating AI into their strategies are "planning for a fake future."
According to PC Gamer, Stirrup wrote: "Look if I'm fired tomorrow it will be because I told you the truth that nobody wants you to know. You can make a game with a simple prompt and yes you can make custom, tailored games."
He also explicitly confirmed Xbox's AI usage: "My goal is to get this over with so we can move on as a company, despite the fact that some will persecute me for this: we use AI, just as all companies do in 2026."
Account Deactivated Within 24 Hours
The quoted statements can no longer be found on X, as Stirrup's account has since been removed. A source at Xbox told PC Gamer that Stirrup opted to deactivate the account because of the overwhelming volume of replies he was receiving. Whether he will face internal consequences remains unknown.
On Reddit, users seemed hardly surprised that AI is being used at Xbox—many had already assumed as much. The discussion suggests there's some acceptance of AI-assisted programming tools, while gamers remain critical of generative AI being used to create graphics, dialogue, or other game content.
A Growing Industry Trend
Stirrup's comments come amid a broader push for AI acceptance in gaming. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney recently said the studio was "moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration," and the Epic Games Store ignited a firestorm by saying it "vibe coded" its new launcher. Xbox, now under the leadership of a former AI executive, recently launched a new Xbox Labs program to pursue emerging technologies—naturally including AI.
Stirrup himself has been an enthusiastic AI evangelist, previously counselling laid-off employees to use Copilot to catalog their skills and accomplishments at the company.
What This Means for Xbox and the Gaming Industry
The incident highlights the growing tension between industry executives pushing AI adoption and gamers who remain skeptical of AI-generated content. While AI-assisted programming tools appear to be generally accepted, the use of generative AI for creative assets continues to draw criticism.
For Xbox, the question now is whether Stirrup's candor will be seen internally as a liability or a necessary conversation-starter. Either way, his brief but explosive social media presence has ensured that the AI debate in gaming isn't going away anytime soon.