Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is retiring, and Xbox president Sarah Bond, lengthy thought-about the individual to in the future maintain Spencer’s job, has resigned from the corporate, as reported by IGN and later confirmed by an official Microsoft announcement. The president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product, Asha Sharma, will now additionally work in Spencer’s former place as the brand new Microsoft Gaming CEO. As a part of this huge shake-up, Xbox Recreation Studios head Matt Booty has been promoted to Chief Content material Officer and can work carefully with Sharma inside Microsoft Gaming.
Sharma joined Microsoft in 2024 as a part of the corporate’s AI and software program improvement staff, and labored because the Chief Working Officer of Instacart and because the Vice President of Product at Meta previous to that. It is necessary to notice that Microsoft has an AI division and CoreAI division – the previous is extra centered on AI analysis and improvement (suppose Copilot), whereas the latter is an AI-first platform for instruments, app stacks, and extra. As the brand new Microsoft Gaming CEO, Sharma will oversee an enormous array of studios and video games starting from Activision’s Name of Obligation umbrella, Blizzard Leisure’s Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Diablo groups, King’s cellular Sweet Crush empire, Mojang and that staff’s ongoing work on Minecraft, and naturally, the core Xbox Recreation Studios, which incorporates Fable and Forza Horizon developer Playground Video games, Halo: Marketing campaign Advanced’s Halo Studios, Obisidian Leisure, which launched The Outer Worlds 2 final October, and extra.
Spencer’s departure comes after serving because the Head of Xbox (and later Microsoft Gaming CEO) for greater than a decade, becoming a member of the staff in 2014, although he had labored at Microsoft since 1988, starting his profession there as an intern. Spencer joined at a tense time for Xbox in 2014, roughly 5 months after Microsoft launched the Xbox One, which by all accounts, launched in a tough state attributable to the non-optional inclusion of a refreshed Kinect, an emphasis on residence and TV leisure (over gaming, in some situations), and DRM-related controversies earlier than the console’s launch; Xbox reversed course on its DRM necessities previous to the launch of the Xbox One.
As Head of Xbox, Spencer rapidly started working garnering good will for the once-favorite console of many avid gamers with strikes like backward compatibility; an emphasis on Xbox Recreation Go with its regular stream of day one releases; explosive E3 conferences that featured the likes of Keanu Reeves; varied acquisitions akin to Microsoft’s $69 billion buy of Activision Blizzard and the corporate’s acquisition of Fallout and Elder Scrolls maker Bethesda for $7.5 billion, amongst others (although arguably, these acquisitions did not precisely present good will for the model); and the Xbox Play Anyplace initiative as a part of its Xbox Collection X/S console technology, which built-in Microsoft’s gaming enterprise extra carefully with PC. Underneath Spencer’s management as Microsoft Gaming CEO, we additionally noticed Xbox-exclusive titles launch on PlayStation 5, like Sea of Thieves, Indiana Jones and The Nice Circle, Forza Horizon 5, and even upcoming video games like Halo: Marketing campaign Advanced.
Bond, who was promoted to President of Xbox in 2022 alongside Spencer’s promotion to Microsoft Gaming CEO, has labored in Xbox since 2017. She started her profession at Xbox because the Company Vice President of Enterprise Growth and Partnerships, was then promoted to Company Vice President of Recreation Creator Expertise and Ecosystem, and eventually, turned President of Xbox.
In 2022, when Bond was promoted to President of Xbox and Spencer to Microsoft Gaming CEO, Matt Booty was named President of Recreation Content material and Studios, a place that put him in shut communication with the greater than 40 studios beneath the Xbox Recreation Studios umbrella. That is doubtless the explanation his new place as Chief Content material Officer will reportedly have him working carefully with Sharma, who doubtless doesn’t have as wide-ranging or as knowledgeable an strategy to Xbox’s steady of studios and video games comparatively.
Xbox has had a busy 2026 up to now, even outdoors of this management shake-up. The corporate held a Developer Direct showcase final month, the place it revealed launch dates and gameplay for upcoming first-party titles like Fable and Forza Horizon 6, together with the debut of Double Advantageous Productions’ Kiln and the launch window for Recreation Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation. Earlier this week, on February 17, Xbox’s first-person fantasy RPG Avowed launched on PS5 after roughly a 12 months of Xbox and PC exclusivity. Looking forward to the remainder of 2026, Xbox is launching Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Collection X/S and PC on Could 19 (and PS5 later this 12 months), Kiln this Spring, its extremely anticipated Fable reboot in Autumn, and Halo: Marketing campaign Advanced someday this 12 months. Plus, Xbox, like PlayStation 5 and PC, will act as a third-party console for large releases like Grand Theft Auto VI in November and extra.
Notably, Microsoft is celebrating 25 years of Xbox in 2026; this shake-up is an attention-grabbing wrinkle in what was imagined to be a banner 12 months for the corporate.
Transcriptions of the emails Spencer, Booty, Sharma, and Nadella despatched to workers had been posted publicly by Microsoft and will be learn under:
Phil Spencer’s E mail To Microsoft Employees
Retiring Microsoft Gaming CEO
Once I walked by means of Microsoft’s doorways as an intern in June of 1988, I might by no means have imagined the merchandise I’d assist construct, the gamers and clients we’d serve, or the extraordinary groups I’d be fortunate sufficient to hitch. It’s been an epic trip and really the privilege of a lifetime.
Final fall, I shared with Satya that I used to be desirous about stepping again and beginning the subsequent chapter of my life. From that second, we aligned on approaching this transition with intention, guaranteeing stability, and strengthening the muse we’ve constructed. Xbox has at all times been greater than a enterprise. It’s a vibrant neighborhood of gamers, creators, and groups who care deeply about what we construct and the way we construct it. And it deserves a considerate, deliberate plan for the highway forward.
Immediately marks an thrilling new chapter for Microsoft Gaming as Asha Sharma steps into the function of CEO, and I wish to be the primary to welcome her to this unimaginable staff. Working together with her over the previous a number of months has given me great confidence. She brings real curiosity, readability and a deep dedication to understanding gamers, creators, and the selections that form our future. We all know this is a vital second for our followers, companions, and staff, and we’re dedicated to getting it proper. I’ll stay in an advisory function by means of the summer season to assist a easy handoff.
I’m additionally grateful for the power of our studios group. Matt Booty and our studios groups proceed to construct an unimaginable portfolio, and I’ve full confidence within the management and inventive momentum throughout our world studios. I wish to congratulate Matt on his promotion to EVP and Chief Content material Officer.
As a part of this transition, Sarah Bond has determined to go away Microsoft to start a brand new chapter. Sarah has been instrumental throughout a defining interval for Xbox, shaping our platform technique, increasing Recreation Go and cloud gaming, supporting new {hardware} launches, and guiding among the most important moments in our historical past. I’m grateful for her partnership and the impression she’s had, and I want her the easiest in what comes subsequent.
Most of all, to everybody in Microsoft Gaming, I wish to say “thanks”. I’ve discovered a lot from this staff and neighborhood, grown alongside you, and been frequently impressed by the creativity, braveness, and care you carry to gamers, creators, and to 1 one other on daily basis.
I’m extremely pleased with what we’ve constructed collectively during the last 25 years, and I’ve full confidence in all of you and within the alternatives forward. I’ll be cheering you on on this subsequent chapter as Xbox’s proudest fan and participant.
Matt Booty’s E mail To Microsoft Employees
Microsoft Chief Content material Officer Matt Booty
I learn Phil’s be aware with a lot gratitude. He has been a gentle champion for sport creators and our studio groups, and I’ve discovered a lot from his management through the years. All our video games have benefited from his foundational assist. I’m additionally grateful to Satya for his ongoing dedication to gaming and holding a imaginative and prescient of the way it can join again to the bigger firm.
Wanting ahead, I’m excited to accomplice with Asha as our subsequent CEO. Our first conversations centered on her dedication to creating nice video games and the function that performs in our total success. She asks questions, pushes for readability, and needs our selections grounded in participant and developer wants. That mindset issues because the business round us is altering rapidly: how gamers have interaction, how video games are made, and the way enterprise fashions and platforms evolve.
We have now good causes to consider in what’s forward. This group and its franchises have navigated change for many years, and our power comes from groups who know find out how to adapt and hold delivering. That confidence is grounded in a robust pipeline of established franchises, new bets we consider in, and clear participant demand for what we’re constructing.
My focus is on supporting the groups and leaders we have now in place and creating the circumstances for them to do their greatest work. To be clear, there are not any organizational modifications underway for our studios.
Thanks for every little thing you do for gamers and for one another.
Asha Sharma’s E mail To Microsoft Employees
Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma
Immediately I start my function as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
I really feel two issues without delay: humility and urgency. Humility as a result of this staff has constructed one thing extraordinary over many years. Urgency as a result of gaming is in a interval of speedy change, and we have to transfer with readability and conviction.
I’m moving into work formed by generations of artists, engineers, designers, writers, musicians, operators and extra who create worlds which have introduced pleasure and deep private that means to tons of of tens of millions of gamers. The extent of craft right here is outstanding, and it’s amplified by Xbox, which was based within the perception that the facility of video games join individuals and push the business ahead.
Thanks to Phil for his management, and to each studio, platform, and operations staff that constructed this basis. We’re stewards of among the most liked tales and characters in leisure and convey gamers and creators collectively across the enjoyable and neighborhood of gaming in solely new methods.
My first job is straightforward: perceive what makes this work and defend it. That begins with three commitments.
First, nice video games.
The whole lot begins right here. We will need to have nice video games beloved by gamers earlier than we do something. Unforgettable characters, tales that make us really feel, revolutionary sport play, and inventive excellence. We are going to empower our studios, spend money on iconic franchises, and again daring new concepts. We are going to take dangers. We are going to enter new classes and markets the place we are able to add actual worth, grounded in what gamers care about most. I promoted Matt Booty in honor of this dedication. He understands the craft and the challenges of constructing nice video games, has led groups that ship award-winning work, and has earned the belief of sport builders throughout the business.
Second, the return of Xbox.
We are going to recommit to our core Xbox followers and gamers, those that have invested with us for the previous 25 years, and to the builders who construct the expansive universes and experiences which are embraced by gamers internationally. We are going to rejoice our roots with a renewed dedication to Xbox beginning with console which has formed who we’re. It connects us to the gamers and followers who spend money on Xbox, and to the builders who construct bold experiences for it. Gaming now lives throughout units, not inside the limits of any single piece of {hardware}. As we broaden throughout PC, cellular, and cloud, Xbox ought to really feel seamless, instantaneous, and worthy of the communities we serve. We are going to break down limitations so builders can construct as soon as and attain gamers in all places with out compromise.
Third, way forward for play.
We’re witnessing the reinvention of play. To satisfy the second, we’ll invent new enterprise fashions and new methods to play by leaning into what we have already got: iconic groups, characters, and worlds that individuals love. However we is not going to deal with these worlds as static IP to exploit and monetize. We are going to construct a shared platform and instruments that empower builders and gamers to create and share their very own tales. As monetization and AI evolve and affect this future, we is not going to chase short-term effectivity or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Video games are and at all times might be artwork, crafted by people, and created with probably the most revolutionary know-how offered by us.
The subsequent 25 years belong to the groups who dare to construct one thing shocking, one thing nobody else is prepared to attempt, and have the persistence to see it by means of. We have now completed this earlier than, and I’m right here to assist us do it once more. I wish to return to the renegade spirit that constructed Xbox within the first place. It should require us to relentlessly query every little thing, revisit processes, defend what works, and be courageous sufficient to vary what doesn’t.
Thanks for welcoming me into this journey.
Satya Nadella’s E mail To Microsoft Employees
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Gaming has been a part of Microsoft from the beginning. Flight Simulator shipped earlier than Home windows, and you’ll virtually ray‑hint a line from DirectX within the ’90s to the accelerated‑compute period we’re in immediately.
As we rejoice Xbox’s twenty fifth 12 months, the chance and innovation agenda in entrance of us is expansive. Immediately we attain over 500 million month-to-month lively customers, are a prime writer throughout all platforms, and proceed to innovate throughout gaming {hardware}, content material and neighborhood, in service of creators and gamers in all places.
I’m lengthy on gaming and its function on the middle of our shopper ambition, and as we glance forward, I’m excited to share that Asha Sharma will grow to be Government Vice President and CEO, Microsoft Gaming, reporting to me. During the last two years at Microsoft, and beforehand as Chief Working Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at Meta, Asha has helped construct and scale companies that attain billions of individuals and assist thriving shopper and developer ecosystems. She brings deep expertise constructing and rising platforms, aligning enterprise fashions to long-term worth, and working at world scale, which might be important in main our gaming enterprise into its subsequent period of development.
Matt Booty will grow to be Government Vice President and Chief Content material Officer, reporting to Asha. Matt’s profession displays a lifelong dedication to video games and to the individuals who make them. Underneath his management, Microsoft Gaming has grown to span almost 40 studios throughout Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King, that are residence to beloved franchises together with Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Name of Obligation, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Sweet Crush, and Fallout.
Collectively, Asha and Matt have the correct mixture of shopper product management and gaming depth to push our platform innovation and content material pipeline ahead. Final 12 months, Phil Spencer made the choice to retire from the corporate, and since then we’ve been speaking about succession planning. I wish to thank Phil for his extraordinary management and partnership. Over 38 years at Microsoft, together with 12 years main Gaming, Phil helped remodel what we do and the way we do it. He expanded our attain throughout PC, cellular, and cloud; almost tripled the dimensions of the enterprise; helped form our technique by means of the acquisitions of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Minecraft; and strengthened our tradition throughout our studios and platforms. I’ve lengthy admired Phil’s unwavering dedication to gamers, creators, and his staff, and I’m personally grateful for his management and counsel. He’ll proceed working carefully with Asha to make sure a easy transition.
We have now extraordinary artistic expertise throughout our studios and a worldwide platform that’s second to none. I’m excited for the way we’ll seize the chance forward and outline what comes subsequent, whereas staying grounded in what gamers and creators worth.
Please be a part of me in congratulating Asha and Matt on their new roles, and in thanking Phil for every little thing he has completed for Microsoft and for our business.
[Source: IGN]
