Evolution or revolution at Xbox? The games industry reacts to leadership changes in Microsoft's games division
Microsft's games division is now under new leadership.
After 12 years in charge, Phil Spencer is retiring, while president and COO Sarah Bond is also heading for the exit door.
Former Instacart COO and Meta VP Asha Sharma is now the EVP and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, moving away from her previous role as president of the tech firm's CoreAI product. Matt Booty, meanwhile, has been promoted to the role of EVP and chief content officer for Microsoft Gaming.
Some analysts have already weighed in on what the change in leadership might mean. For more insights, we asked the Mobile Mavens for their views on the past decade at Xbox and what the future might hold for Microsoft's games division.
Claire Rozain
On the changes:
Replacing a gaming leader with someone from Microsoft's CoreAI division tells you everything. Microsoft now sees gaming as a platform scaling problem, not a creative one. Matt Booty's promotion to chief content officer is the necessary counterbalance, but the real question is whether content leads or serves the tech-first vision.
On the last decade:
Spencer saved Xbox from being shut down, built Game Pass and executed the Activision Blizzard acquisition. But nearly 40 studios never translated into a consistent creative identity. Gaming revenue dropped 10% last quarter. He built the infrastructure. What was missing was the brand soul.
The entrepreneurial problem:
From a founder's perspective, this is a pattern I see too often: leadership changes that interrupt long-term strategies before they've had time to compound. Great strategies need time, consistency and conviction. You can't plant a tree and swap the gardener every few years expecting fruit.
The Activision integration alone is a multi-year play. Game Pass hasn't reached maturity. The studio portfolio needs a unified creative vision that takes years to crystallise.
Constant leadership turnover signals to players, developers and partners that the strategy is negotiable. And when strategy feels negotiable, nobody invests emotionally in your brand.
On the future:
Sharma promised "no soulless AI slop" - the right words. But 500 million monthly active players isn't a community. Turning that number into one requires patience, identity and creative conviction. Exactly the things that leadership instability undermines.
Adam Smart
I feel like gaming as a whole is changing. Many of the companies that we’ve known and loved have undergone extreme transformations. COVID hid that for a couple of years, but it's had even more of an impact since.
You only have to listen to a few earnings calls from some of the gaming giants to see mobile's revenue slice has grown significantly over the past few years. Eyeballs are even being drawn away by TikTok, Youtube, Netflix, Disney+, OnlyFans, etc.
Now AI’s been thrown into the mix (love it or hate it) and will inevitably have a role to play in the future of gaming.
“I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer my boss to enable me to achieve greatness rather than to have an incredible Gamer Tag.”Adam Smart
Hell, Tencent CEO's recently announced they are hiring like crazy: 28,000 internships (60% in tech and AI) over three years (2025 to 2027). 10,000 in 2025 alone. We have all seen China is growing rapidly in the gaming world.
Then you have the gamer-focused changes happening in our industry. Roblox and Fortnite have been capturing the attention spans of a few generations now. Live service (love it or hate it) is showing revenues can potentially achieve higher thresholds. The industry needs to adapt to stay alive and relevant.
Then, take into account the corporate state of a company the size of Microsoft, the CEO of Xbox needs to be more of a lobbyist than a gamer. Realistically it should be their role to protect the studios from the rest of the company and give them the tools and as much creative freedom as possible to create awesome games, not to tell them what to make.
I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer my boss to enable me to achieve greatness rather than to have an incredible Gamer Tag.
Kimberley Fogg
Phil Spencer’s departure closes a remarkable chapter for Xbox, one defined by acquisitions, Game Pass expansion and a shift toward gaming as an ecosystem rather than a single box under the TV.
Bringing in Asha Sharma feels like a generational pivot. What excites me most is not just that a woman is stepping into one of the most powerful roles in gaming, but how she’s framing the opportunity. Her emphasis on 'great games' first, paired with a clear view of platform evolution, signals a move from expansion to intention. After a decade of scale, this feels like a moment to refine identity.
For women across the industry, it’s powerful to see leadership that centres creativity, long-term value, and community - not just growth metrics. The next era of Xbox may be less about consolidation and more about culture, and that’s a super exciting shift.
Ali Farha
Replacing gaming vets with an AI expert like Asha Sharma says it all: Microsoft is doubling down on "Everything is an Xbox". It’s a clear pivot away from hardware to focus on pushing massive acquired titles onto every screen possible, rather than just gambling on new IPs or games.
What really jumped out in Asha’s first statement was her comment on "shared platform tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories".
“I appreciate Asha calling out 'AI slop' and wanting to move away from just milking and monetising static IPs.”Ali Farha
To me, that sounds a lot like the Roblox or Fortnite, which I honestly don't think is what Xbox needs at the moment. But I also appreciate her calling out "AI slop" and wanting to move away from just milking and monetising static IPs.
Asha’s got a tough road ahead. The "simple" answer is just making more games for beloved franchises. But actually executing that while balancing AI and creative soul across 40+ studios won't be easy.
Jacki Vause
It is obvious that Asha Sharma has big shoes to fill. I am a massive Phil Spencer fan. As a PR expert, I naturally view this through the lens of communications and positioning, and I think giving her first interview to Variety was an error.
Don't get me wrong I am delighted that Microsoft has chosen a smart, savvy woman for this role, but I would have thought that her first big interview would have gone to an industry trade publication, not the Hollywood glamourpuss that is Variety.
Chris Han
I’m excited to see this leadership transition and what it could mean for the industry. Microsoft already has the content, audience, platform, cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities.
If these pieces are connected well, we may finally see more practical AI applications in gaming, especially in monetisation, live ops, etc.
In a rapidly changing games industry, what we need most is leadership that drives real iteration and meaningful change. I'm looking forward to seeing how Xbox evolves from here.
Stuart De Ville
Leadership changes at a company the size of Microsoft are always significant, but they’re rarely about a single moment. From the outside, this feels less like disruption and more like transition.
Over the past decade, Microsoft’s games strategy has been defined by scale, acquisition and ecosystem building, particularly through Game Pass and platform expansion. Those moves suggest a long-term vision rather than short-term reaction.
Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond have been closely associated with stabilising and expanding Xbox’s position in a highly competitive market. If there is a shift now, it may be less about abandoning that strategy and more about evolving it.
“From an indie perspective, what matters most is clarity. Large platform holders set the tone for funding, discoverability and ecosystem health.”Stuart De Ville
The past decade was about consolidation and infrastructure. The next decade may be about integration and focus: ensuring that those acquisitions translate into sustainable creative output and meaningful player value.
From an indie perspective, what matters most is clarity. Large platform holders set the tone for funding, discoverability and ecosystem health. Leadership changes can create uncertainty, but they also create opportunities to re-evaluate priorities. If the new leadership team continues to support diverse studios, subscription experimentation and global reach, there’s reason to be optimistic.
Ultimately, Microsoft’s games division is now too embedded in the broader entertainment and tech landscape for radical swings. The future likely holds refinement rather than reinvention, with a stronger emphasis on making their existing portfolio work cohesively. For the wider industry, stability combined with thoughtful evolution would be the most constructive outcome.
Caroline Gao
I see Asha Sharma’s appointment as a strong signal that the buying phase of Xbox is over and the execution phase has begun. Phil Spencer’s legacy is that massive foundation of studios and IP, and the challenge now is actually scaling that to a global audience.
Sharma's experiences at Meta and Instacart are key here because she knows how to build for massive platforms and high-volume user growth.
Microsoft is pivoting from acquiring content to perfecting the infrastructure, making sure Game Pass works seamlessly on every screen you own. And if she can use that technical expertise to help creators reach players anywhere, the future of play seems incredibly bright.
Hajar Noreddine
Phil Spencer's era delivered some real highs, but at times it felt like Microsoft couldn't quite decide if it was building a console or a broader tech platform. Players felt that uncertainty.
Game Pass was a bold and industry-shaping idea, but it came at the expense of clear hardware identity. Asha Sharma's appointment says a lot about where Satya Nadella wants to take things.
“The 'great games first' pledge needs to be more than a memo.”Hajar Noreddine
As someone who's spent a decade at the intersection of gaming and business models, I believe platform thinking can genuinely unlock opportunities the industry hasn't fully explored yet, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
But as a gamer myself, I know creative trust is everything – and Microsoft has tested that goodwill more than once. Matt Booty stepping up as chief content officer is reassuring because he understands the studios, but the 'great games first' pledge needs to be more than a memo.
The next 12 to 18 months will show whether the strategy truly delivers
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