A key figure in Microsoft's Xbox division, Phil Spencer is leaving the company, and with him his potential replacement.
In some respects, Phil Spencer's policies within the Xbox division seemed at odds with those of Microsoft Group CFO Amy Hood, but it was difficult to foresee such an upheaval at the head of the entire Xbox department and Xbox Games Studios: Phil Spencer had been with the company for 38 years, and had experienced just about every event connected in one way or another with the Xbox brand since the launch of the first console in 2001. But now, after 38 years, Phil Spencer has decided to retire from the company.
Even more surprisingly, Phil Spencer's departure is accompanied by that of his number two, Sarah Bond. She had joined the group in 2017 and had been heavily involved in the two major acquisitions of recent years: the purchase of ZeniMax Media/Bethesda in 2020 for the sum of 7.5 billion and that of Activision Blizzard in 2023 for the record sum of 75.4 billion dollars. Until a few days ago, Sarah Bond was President of Xbox - while Phil Spencer was CEO - and almost everyone saw her as the designated successor to our friend Phil. Not so.
Microsoft Gaming's new CEO Asha Sharma and new Xbox Content Director Matt Booty. ©IGN
It was Satya Nadella - Microsoft's CEO - who announced the double departure and, at the same time, indicated which new faces would lead the Xbox division's operations. The announcement made no mention of the terms of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond's departure. It is therefore difficult to draw any conclusions, even if this "pas de deux" does sound like a serious repudiation of the departing couple's ideas. Asha Sharma is the new head of the Xbox division. She will be supported by Matt Booty, who becomes the new Director of Content, having been President of Game Content & Studios since November 2023.
Speaking toIGN, Asha Sharma gave us some details of the major directions to come. Although things are still very vague, she explains that she wants to " understand what works and protect it " through three main commitments. Firstly, and not surprisingly, she focuses on the need for quality in future games. Its second commitment is to " celebrate our roots by renewing our commitment to Xbox ". While Phil Spencer may have seemed to emphasize Xbox Game Pass, Asha Sharma gives the impression of wanting to relaunch consoles and hardware. Finally, the third commitment is by far the trickiest to decipher.
" We are witnessing the reinvention of gaming. To respond to this evolution, we're going to invent new business models and new ways of playing, building on what we already have: teams, characters and iconic universes that people love. But we won't treat these universes as static intellectual properties to be exploited and monetized. We're going to create a platform and shared tools that will allow developers and players to create and share their own stories. [...] As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not pursue short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI. Games are and always will be an art form, designed by humans and created using the most innovative technologies we provide." While Asha Sharma was in place in Microsoft's AI department, it's not surprising to see her talking about it, but we can't say she clarifies things that much at this level.
