- Phil Spencer retires after 38 years at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), ending a 12‑year run leading Xbox; Asha Sharma, formerly of Instacart and Microsoft’s CoreAI division, has been appointed the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming
- Xbox president Sarah Bond is also departing, despite previously being seen as Spencer’s likely successor; her exit was confirmed alongside the leadership shake‑up
- Industry turbulence continues, with Sony (NYSE:SONY) shutting down Bluepoint Games and Ubisoft (OTC Pink:UBSFF) laying off 40 Toronto employees
- Microsoft stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) last traded at US$384.72
The news hit right after the closing bell rang.
Phil Spencer is stepping down, closing a nearly four-decade chapter at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and a 12-year reign over Xbox. He joined as an intern in 1988 and leaves behind a legacy of bold moves—tripling Xbox’s size, acquiring Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Minecraft, and steering the brand toward subscriptions and cloud gaming. The news was broken by IGN who shared in his farewell memo, Spencer called Xbox “more than a business… a vibrant community,” and confirmed he’ll stay on as an advisor through the summer. His departure marks “the end of an era” in gaming leadership.
Indis-Spencer-able
While many of his decisions left gamers scratching their heads, Spencer’s leadership made Xbox what it was. Under his watch, the brand embraced cloud gaming, subscription models, and blockbuster acquisitions. His departure leaves a void that won’t be easy to fill. He announced his retirement on Friday and 72 hours later, he is gone. Rather quick turnaround.
Asha to Asha, we all fall down
Stepping into the spotlight is Asha Sharma, now Executive VP and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, reporting directly to Satya Nadella. Sharma arrived at Microsoft in 2024 from Instacart, where she was COO, and before that held product leadership roles at Meta (NASDAQ:META) (who slashed 1,000 jobs this year already). She promoted her Xbox profile to entice fan engagement and fans noticed that her profile is just a month old. She immediately addressed her appointment, stating “My first job is simple: understand what makes this work and protect it,” one would hope she already understood what made this work, but considering the tumultuous year Microsoft has had already and it’s only February, it seems clear this changing of the guard was inevitable. What growth Microsoft has been reporting is tied to AI spending, so this could be a sign of further commitment to that front.
With a business degree from the University of Minnesota, she’s already drawing a line in the sand: “games are art, crafted by humans,” she said, vowing to “empower our studios” and avoid “soulless AI slop”. You’d think she’d have been warned by her boss not to use the term “AI slop”, lest you face the mockery of the internet. Her arrival comes at a critical moment—Xbox’s hardware revenue is down around 32 per cent, and content / services are off by 5 per cent.
Booty calls
Matt Booty, longtime head of Xbox Game Studios, has been promoted to executive VP and chief content officer, now working directly under Asha Sharma.He oversees nearly 40 studios—including Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King (some of these acquired thanks to Spencer)—home to major franchises like Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, Minecraft, and Fallout. Surely, you’ve heard of some of those.In his internal memo, Booty emphasized no layoffs tied to the shake-up and praised the team’s resilience: “we have good reasons to believe in what’s ahead,” focusing on supporting studios and creators. If anyone does get laid off at Microsoft, it won’t be because of this.
Out on Bond
Just as the dust settled, another surprise: Sarah Bond, Xbox President and long seen as Spencer’s heir, is also leaving. Spencer’s memo noted she “has decided to leave… instrumental during a defining period,” but her exit was tucked into the announcement. What raised eyebrows: hours before the news broke, Bond posted a message to LinkedIn that was benign and didn’t have the tone of someone with one foot out the door.
This was followed by a farewell memo, expressing pride in Xbox’s progress and support for Sharma. Observers pointed out that neither Nadella nor Sharma mentioned her departure, and the timing fuelled speculation.
Even Master Chief is freelancing out there
Xbox isn’t the only one in upheaval. The gaming industry is rattled:
| Company | What happened | Why it matters |
| Sony | Closed Bluepoint Games—known for Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus—after cancelling a live-service God of War project. About 70 jobs were cut. | A blow to a studio famed for high-quality remakes. |
| Ubisoft Toronto | Laid off 40 employees, though the Splinter Cell remake is still in development. | Part of a broader restructuring—some projects cancelled, others continue. |
Xbox’s leadership overhaul isn’t happening in a vacuum. As just last week, Sony (NYSE:SONY) shuttered a beloved studio and Ubisoft (OTC Pink:UBSFF) trimmed another team, the industry is clearly in flux. With Spencer’s legacy, Sharma’s human-centred vision, and Bond’s quiet exit, Xbox is entering a new chapter—one that will test whether console giants can adapt or if even icons like Master Chief might end up freelancing.
Everything is an Xbox!
Microsoft Corp. develops and supports software, services, devices, and solutions. The company’s segments include productivity and business processes, intelligent cloud, and more personal computing.
Microsoft stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) closed trading down more than 3 per cent at US$384.72 and has lost more than 4.5 per cent since this time last year.
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