In an unexpected turn, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has retired from his position, and his successor, Sara Bond, the president of Xbox, has also left Microsoft. According to a public press release and internetal emails, Microsoft CoreAI president Asha Sharma is stepping in to helm the tech giant's gaming division moving forward.
In an email sent out Friday to Microsoft employees (via Polygon), Microsoft's new CEO of gaming said the following about the future of the Xbox brand:
We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years, and to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world.
The executive shake-up also has Matt Booty, the former head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft, taking on the role of Xbox chief content officer under Sharma. In an email to staff, Spencer confirmed that his retirement begins on February 23rd, and wrote that he first approached Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella last fall about stepping away from Xbox.
In an email to staff, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, "Last year, Phil Spencer made the decision to retire from the company, and since then we've been talking about succession planning. I want to thank Phil for his extraordinary leadership and partnership. Over 38 years at Microsoft, including 12 years leading Gaming, Phil helped transform what we do and how we do it."
Bond has not commented publicly about her departure from the company, but in internal emails, Spencer spoke positively about Microsoft's former Xbox president, writing, "Sarah has been instrumental during a defining period for Xbox, shaping our platform strategy, expanding Game Pass and cloud gaming, supporting new hardware launches, and guiding some of the most significant moments in our history. I'm grateful for her partnership and the impact she's had, and I wish her the very best in what comes next."
Spencer played an integral role in the Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass launch
It's unclear what Bond is moving on to next
During his time as the head of all things Xbox, Spencer played a pivotal role in the launch of the Xbox Series X and S and the acquisition of Activision, alongside spearheading the brand's Netflix-like Xbox Game Pass platform and its increasingly agnostic approach to bringing Microsoft-developed titles to other platforms, including PC and PlayStation 5.
Over the past few months, Spencer has pulled back considerably from public appearances and statements, allowing former Xbox president Sarah Bond to fill that role. For example, Bond played a very public-facing role in the launch of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, alongside discussing the future of the Xbox brand, which she described as a more PC-like platform powered by custom AMD silicon.
