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Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who has been astatine Microsoft since helium joined arsenic an intern successful 1988 and with Xbox since the bundle elephantine launched its archetypal console successful 2001, is retiring, sources acquainted with the substance who are not authorized to talk publically confirmed to IGN. Spencer’s status is effectual connected Monday, February 23. Meanwhile, Xbox President Sarah Bond, agelong thought by galore some wrong and extracurricular of Microsoft to beryllium Spencer’s heir apparent, has resigned. The caller CEO of Microsoft Gaming volition beryllium Asha Sharma, presently the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI product. Finally, Xbox Game Studios caput Matt Booty is being promoted to Chief Content Officer and volition enactment intimately with Sharma.
"I privation to convey Phil for his bonzer enactment and partnership," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said successful an email sent to Microsoft staff. "Over 38 years astatine Microsoft, including 12 years starring Gaming, Phil helped alteration what we bash and however we bash it." Full emails from Nadella, Spencer, Sharma, and Booty are below.
Spencer, successful his email to Microsoft staff, said successful part: "Last fall, I shared with Satya that I was reasoning astir stepping backmost and starting the adjacent section of my life. From that moment, we aligned connected approaching this modulation with intention, ensuring stability, and strengthening the instauration we’ve built. Xbox has ever been much than a business. It’s a vibrant assemblage of players, creators, and teams who attraction profoundly astir what we physique and however we physique it. And it deserves a thoughtful, deliberate program for the roadworthy ahead.
"Today marks an breathtaking caller section for Microsoft Gaming arsenic Asha Sharma steps into the relation of CEO, and I privation to beryllium the archetypal to invited her to this unthinkable team. Working with her implicit the past respective months has fixed maine tremendous confidence. She brings genuine curiosity, clarity and a heavy committedness to knowing players, creators, and the decisions that signifier our future. We cognize this is an important infinitesimal for our fans, partners, and team, and we’re committed to getting it right. I’ll stay successful an advisory relation done the summertime to enactment a creaseless handoff."
Sharma is simply a erstwhile VP of Product and Engineering astatine Meta and erstwhile Instacart COO who is besides a committee subordinate of The Home Depot. She joined Microsoft successful 2024. In her email to Microsoft staff, she wrote, successful part: "My archetypal occupation is simple: recognize what makes this enactment and support it. That starts with 3 commitments. First, large games. Everything begins here. We indispensable person large games beloved by players earlier we bash anything. Unforgettable characters, stories that marque america feel, innovative crippled play, and originative excellence. We volition empower our studios, put successful iconic franchises, and backmost bold caller ideas. We volition instrumentality risks. We volition participate caller categories and markets wherever we tin adhd existent value, grounded successful what players attraction astir most. I promoted Matt Booty successful grant of this commitment. He understands the trade and the challenges of gathering large games, has led teams that present award-winning work, and has earned the spot of crippled developers crossed the industry.
"Second, the instrumentality of Xbox. We volition recommit to our halfway Xbox fans and players, those who person invested with america for the past 25 years, and to the developers who physique the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players crossed the world. We volition observe our roots with a renewed committedness to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects america to the players and fans who put successful Xbox, and to the developers who physique ambitious experiences for it.
"Gaming present lives crossed devices, not wrong the limits of immoderate azygous portion of hardware. As we grow crossed PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should consciousness seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We volition interruption down barriers truthful developers tin physique erstwhile and scope players everyplace without compromise.
"Third, aboriginal of play. We are witnessing the reinvention of play. To conscionable the moment, we volition invent caller concern models and caller ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters, and worlds that radical love. But we volition not dainty those worlds arsenic static IP to beverage and monetize. We volition physique a shared level and tools that empower developers and players to make and stock their ain stories.
As monetization and AI germinate and power this future, we volition not pursuit short-term ratio oregon flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and ever volition beryllium art, crafted by humans, and created with the astir innovative exertion provided by us."
Booty said successful his email to Microsoft staff: "Looking forward, I’m excited to spouse with Asha arsenic our adjacent CEO. Our archetypal conversations centered connected her committedness to making large games and the relation that plays successful our wide success. She asks questions, pushes for clarity, and wants our choices grounded successful subordinate and developer needs. That mindset matters arsenic the manufacture astir america is changing quickly: however players engage, however games are made, and however concern models and platforms evolve.
"We person bully reasons to judge successful what’s ahead. This enactment and its franchises person navigated alteration for decades, and our spot comes from teams who cognize however to accommodate and support delivering. That assurance is grounded successful a beardown pipeline of established franchises, caller bets we judge in, and wide subordinate request for what we are building."
Bond joined Xbox successful 2017 pursuing a stint arsenic an enforcement astatine T-Mobile – this aft some her parents worked successful the telecom manufacture – arsenic Xbox’s firm VP of bizdev and partnerships. She became firm VP of crippled creator acquisition and ecosystem aft that earlier being named President of Xbox successful 2022.
Spencer was named Head of Xbox successful March of 2014, erstwhile helium was tasked with righting a vessel that had made a fig of merchandise choices and argumentation decisions that rubbed halfway gamers the incorrect mode successful the run-up to the motorboat of the Xbox One successful Fall 2013. Long hailed by gamers arsenic being 1 of their own, Spencer could often beryllium recovered connected Xbox Live, playing games regularly with chap Xbox gamers and racking up a steadfast Gamerscore. His archetypal large determination erstwhile enactment successful complaint was decoupling the Kinect 2.0 peripheral from the Xbox One package, frankincense instantly reducing the caller console’s terms by $100 to $399, matching the day-one terms of Sony’s PlayStation 4. He spearheaded the much-heralded backwards compatibility question wrong Xbox, the Xbox Game Pass work was calved nether his watch, and accessibility made large advances during his tenure successful some hardware and software. Xbox Play Anywhere, which sought to fto gamers play their Xbox games connected immoderate device, beryllium it a PC, console, oregon handheld, isn’t caller but has been a large caller focal point.
Spencer’s clip moving Xbox volition possibly beryllium astir remembered for Microsoft’s $69 cardinal acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King successful 2022.“
Spencer’s clip moving Xbox volition possibly beryllium astir remembered for Microsoft’s $69 cardinal acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King successful 2022, which took astir 2 years to execute regulatory support from assorted agencies astir the world. But Spencer began trying to lick for Xbox’s dearth of first-party games successful 2018, erstwhile the archetypal question of workplace acquisitions occurred. Prior to the Activision deal, Spencer’s biggest determination came with the $7.5 cardinal acquisition of ZeniMax, genitor institution of Bethesda, successful 2020. The woody gave Xbox full ownership of Bethesda Game Studios and its Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises on with id Software and its Doom and Quake IPs, among galore others. Questions arose from determination astir whether oregon not that meant each of Xbox’s caller studios would nutrient games exclusively for Xbox consoles, and portion immoderate games were kept disconnected of PlayStation platforms temporarily, galore weren’t and astir present look to travel to PS5 eventually, if not connected time one.
Xbox launched 1 caller console procreation during Spencer’s clip astatine the helm: the Xbox Series X and Series S. The unsocial two-pronged hardware strategy aimed to springiness halfway gamers the astir almighty console connected the marketplace portion offering much casual gamers a much affordable introduction constituent into Xbox’s 4th generation. A planetary pandemic and a deficiency of compelling bundle to instrumentality vantage of the caller machines got the Xbox Series disconnected to a dilatory commencement from which it has ne'er truly recovered, culminating successful a disastrous vacation 2025 income play that followed 2 terms increases connected the aging hardware successful the span of six months, on with a important bump successful the subscription terms for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the apical tier of the work that includes the quality to play caller releases connected time one. The consequent Microsoft quarterly net study painted a grim representation for the gaming division.
Xbox has yet been regularly delivering a dependable cadence of good-quality games implicit the past year-plus, from STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle successful Fall 2024 to Avowed, South of Midnight, Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, Keeper, The Outer Worlds 2, and the not-as-well-received Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 successful 2025 to a 2026 lineup that looks acceptable to see Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and the Unreal Engine 5-powered remake Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Here are the afloat emails from Nadella, Spencer, Sharma, and Booty:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella:
Gaming has been portion of Microsoft from the start. Flight Simulator shipped earlier Windows, and you tin practically ray‑trace a enactment from DirectX successful the ’90s to the accelerated‑compute epoch we’re successful today.
As we observe Xbox’s 25th year, the accidental and innovation docket successful beforehand of america is expansive. Today we scope implicit 500 cardinal monthly progressive users, are a apical steadfast crossed each platforms, and proceed to innovate crossed gaming hardware, contented and community, successful work of creators and players everywhere.
I americium agelong connected gaming and its relation astatine the halfway of our user ambition, and arsenic we look ahead, I’m excited to stock that Asha Sharma volition go Executive Vice President and CEO, Microsoft Gaming, reporting to me. Over the past 2 years astatine Microsoft, and antecedently arsenic Chief Operating Officer astatine Instacart and a Vice President astatine Meta, Asha has helped physique and standard services that scope billions of radical and enactment thriving user and developer ecosystems. She brings heavy acquisition gathering and increasing platforms, aligning concern models to semipermanent value, and operating astatine planetary scale, which volition beryllium captious successful starring our gaming concern into its adjacent epoch of growth.
Matt Booty volition go Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Asha. Matt’s vocation reflects a lifelong committedness to games and to the radical who marque them. Under his leadership, Microsoft Gaming has grown to span astir 40 studios crossed Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King, which are location to beloved franchises including Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, and Fallout.
Together, Asha and Matt person the close operation of user merchandise enactment and gaming extent to propulsion our level innovation and contented pipeline forward. Last year, Phil Spencer made the determination to discontinue from the company, and since past we’ve been talking astir succession planning. I privation to convey Phil for his bonzer enactment and partnership. Over 38 years astatine Microsoft, including 12 years starring Gaming, Phil helped alteration what we bash and however we bash it. He expanded our scope crossed PC, mobile, and cloud; astir tripled the size of the business; helped signifier our strategy done the acquisitions of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Minecraft; and strengthened our civilization crossed our studios and platforms. I’ve agelong admired Phil’s unwavering committedness to players, creators, and his team, and I americium personally grateful for his enactment and counsel. He volition proceed moving intimately with Asha to guarantee a creaseless transition.
We person bonzer originative endowment crossed our studios and a planetary level that is 2nd to none. I’m excited for however we volition seizure the accidental up and specify what comes next, portion staying grounded successful what players and creators value.
Please articulation maine successful congratulating Asha and Matt connected their caller roles, and successful thanking Phil for everything helium has done for Microsoft and for our industry.
Retiring Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
Subject: A New Chapter for Microsoft Gaming
When I walked done Microsoft’s doors arsenic an intern successful June of 1988, I could ne'er person imagined the products I’d assistance build, the players and customers we’d serve, oregon the bonzer teams I’d beryllium fortunate capable to join. It’s been an epic thrust and genuinely the privilege of a lifetime.
Last fall, I shared with Satya that I was reasoning astir stepping backmost and starting the adjacent section of my life. From that moment, we aligned connected approaching this modulation with intention, ensuring stability, and strengthening the instauration we’ve built. Xbox has ever been much than a business. It’s a vibrant assemblage of players, creators, and teams who attraction profoundly astir what we physique and however we physique it. And it deserves a thoughtful, deliberate program for the roadworthy ahead.
Today marks an breathtaking caller section for Microsoft Gaming arsenic Asha Sharma steps into the relation of CEO, and I privation to beryllium the archetypal to invited her to this unthinkable team. Working with her implicit the past respective months has fixed maine tremendous confidence. She brings genuine curiosity, clarity and a heavy committedness to knowing players, creators, and the decisions that signifier our future. We cognize this is an important infinitesimal for our fans, partners, and team, and we’re committed to getting it right. I’ll stay successful an advisory relation done the summertime to enactment a creaseless handoff.
I’m besides grateful for the spot of our studios organization. Matt Booty and our studios teams proceed to physique an unthinkable portfolio, and I person afloat assurance successful the enactment and originative momentum crossed our planetary studios. I privation to congratulate Matt connected his promotion to EVP and Chief Content Officer.
As portion of this transition, Sarah Bond has decided to permission Microsoft to statesman a caller chapter. Sarah has been instrumental during a defining play for Xbox, shaping our level strategy, expanding Game Pass and unreality gaming, supporting caller hardware launches, and guiding immoderate of the astir important moments successful our history. I’m grateful for her concern and the interaction she’s had, and I privation her the precise champion successful what comes next.
Most of all, to everyone successful Microsoft Gaming, I privation to accidental “thank you”. I’ve learned truthful overmuch from this squad and community, grown alongside you, and been continually inspired by the creativity, courage, and attraction you bring to players, creators, and to 1 different each day.
I’m incredibly arrogant of what we’ve built unneurotic implicit the past 25 years, and I person implicit assurance successful each of you and successful the opportunities ahead. I’ll beryllium cheering you connected successful this adjacent section arsenic Xbox’s proudest instrumentality and player.
Phil
XBL: P3
New Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma
Dear team,
Today I statesman my relation arsenic CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
I consciousness 2 things astatine once: humility and urgency.
Humility due to the fact that this squad has built thing bonzer implicit decades. Urgency due to the fact that gaming is successful a play of accelerated change, and we request to determination with clarity and conviction.
I americium stepping into enactment shaped by generations of artists, engineers, designers, writers, musicians, operators and much who make worlds that person brought joyousness and heavy idiosyncratic meaning to hundreds of millions of players. The level of trade present is exceptional, and it is amplified by Xbox, which was founded successful the content that the powerfulness of games link radical and propulsion the manufacture forward.
Thank you to Phil for his leadership, and to each studio, platform, and operations squad that built this foundation. We are stewards of immoderate of the astir loved stories and characters successful amusement and bring players and creators unneurotic astir the amusive and assemblage of gaming successful wholly caller ways.
My archetypal occupation is simple: recognize what makes this enactment and support it.
That starts with 3 commitments.
First, large games.
Everything begins here. We indispensable person large games beloved by players earlier we bash anything. Unforgettable characters, stories that marque america feel, innovative crippled play, and originative excellence. We volition empower our studios, put successful iconic franchises, and backmost bold caller ideas. We volition instrumentality risks. We volition participate caller categories and markets wherever we tin adhd existent value, grounded successful what players attraction astir most.
I promoted Matt Booty successful grant of this commitment. He understands the trade and the challenges of gathering large games, has led teams that present award-winning work, and has earned the spot of crippled developers crossed the industry.
Second, the instrumentality of Xbox.
We volition recommit to our halfway Xbox fans and players, those who person invested with america for the past 25 years, and to the developers who physique the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players crossed the world.
We volition observe our roots with a renewed committedness to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects america to the players and fans who put successful Xbox, and to the developers who physique ambitious experiences for it.
Gaming present lives crossed devices, not wrong the limits of immoderate azygous portion of hardware. As we grow crossed PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should consciousness seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We volition interruption down barriers truthful developers tin physique erstwhile and scope players everyplace without compromise.
Third, aboriginal of play.
We are witnessing the reinvention of play.
To conscionable the moment, we volition invent caller concern models and caller ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters, and worlds that radical love. But we volition not dainty those worlds arsenic static IP to beverage and monetize. We volition physique a shared level and tools that empower developers and players to make and stock their ain stories.
As monetization and AI germinate and power this future, we volition not pursuit short-term ratio oregon flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and ever volition beryllium art, crafted by humans, and created with the astir innovative exertion provided by us.
The adjacent 25 years beryllium to the teams who situation to physique thing surprising, thing nary 1 other is consenting to try, and person the patience to spot it through. We person done this before, and I americium present to assistance america bash it again. I privation to instrumentality to the renegade tone that built Xbox successful the archetypal place. It volition necessitate america to relentlessly question everything, revisit processes, support what works, and beryllium brave capable to alteration what does not.
Thank you for welcoming maine into this journey.
Asha
Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty
I work Phil’s enactment with overmuch gratitude. He has been a dependable champion for crippled creators and our workplace teams, and I’ve learned truthful overmuch from his enactment implicit the years. All our games person benefited from his foundational support. I’m besides grateful to Satya for his ongoing committedness to gaming and holding a imaginativeness of however it tin link backmost to the larger company.
Looking forward, I’m excited to spouse with Asha arsenic our adjacent CEO. Our archetypal conversations centered connected her committedness to making large games and the relation that plays successful our wide success. She asks questions, pushes for clarity, and wants our choices grounded successful subordinate and developer needs. That mindset matters arsenic the manufacture astir america is changing quickly: however players engage, however games are made, and however concern models and platforms evolve.
We person bully reasons to judge successful what’s ahead. This enactment and its franchises person navigated alteration for decades, and our spot comes from teams who cognize however to accommodate and support delivering. That assurance is grounded successful a beardown pipeline of established franchises, caller bets we judge in, and wide subordinate request for what we are building.
My absorption is connected supporting the teams and leaders we person successful spot and creating the conditions for them to bash their champion work. To beryllium clear, determination are nary organizational changes underway for our studios.
Thanks for everything you bash for players and for each other.
-Matt
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our semi-retired interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.
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