Microsoft today announced a major restructuring of its gaming division. Phil Spencer, who joined the company in 1988 and eventually led the gaming and Xbox divisions, is stepping down from his role as executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Also leaving the company is Sarah Bond, who served as president of the Xbox division. Spencer’s role will now be taken over by Asha Sharma, who previously led AI projects at Microsoft and also held leadership roles at Meta and Instacart.
Why is this a big change?
For over a decade, Phil Spencer has been the face of Microsoft’s gaming ambitions with the Xbox label. Under his leadership, Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass, the gaming subscription service often compared to the “Netflix of games.” Spencer took the helm of the Xbox division in 2014 and eventually took on the role of CEO of Microsoft Gaming in 2022. He championed the cross-platform gaming movement that is now central to the company’s gaming vision.
Under his leadership, Microsoft announced backwards compatibility for console games, starting with the Xbox One in 2015. During his tenure, the company launched the Xbox cloud game streaming service, expanding the company’s vision of gaming anywhere. In addition, Spencer also led the blockbuster acquisitions of game studios such as Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. In his final years at the company, Microsoft also expanded into the third-party Xbox console segment, starting with the Asus ROG Ally X.
What’s next?
Following Spencer’s departure, Sharma will have big shoes to fill. She previously served as president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product. In her new role, she has also promoted the experienced Matt Botty to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer. And it seems that in addition to cross-device platform access, she is also committed to the cause of Xbox consoles.
“We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox, starting with the console that shaped us. It connects us with the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and with the developers who create ambitious experiences for it,” she wrote in a note. She also emphasized that Microsoft will not blindly push the use of AI in games, which is reassuring at a time when the industry is divided over the use of AI in the game development process.
