Microsoft just dropped a bombshell on the gaming industry. Phil Spencer, the face of Xbox for over a decade, is retiring after nearly 40 years at the company. But that's not all - Xbox president Sarah Bond is also leaving, and the person taking over Microsoft Gaming isn't from the gaming world at all. Asha Sharma, currently leading CoreAI product development, is stepping in as CEO of Microsoft Gaming, signaling what could be a dramatic pivot in how the tech giant approaches its gaming business.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella broke the news in an internal memo today that's already sending shockwaves through the gaming industry. Phil Spencer, who's been with Microsoft since 1988 and led Xbox through some of its most transformative years, is hanging up his controller. "Last year, Phil Spencer made the decision to retire from the company, and since then we've been talking about succession planning," Nadella wrote in the memo obtained by The Verge.
But here's where it gets interesting. Microsoft isn't promoting from within the gaming ranks. Instead, Asha Sharma, who's been running CoreAI product development, is taking the helm. It's a move that tells you everything about where Microsoft thinks gaming is headed. The company just spent the better part of two years fighting regulators to close its $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal, and now it's putting an AI executive in charge of the whole gaming operation.
Spencer's tenure as Xbox chief started in 2014, when the Xbox One was struggling against Sony's PlayStation 4. He turned things around by focusing on services over hardware, launching Game Pass, and pushing Xbox games onto PC and cloud platforms. Under his watch, Microsoft went on an acquisition spree that brought Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and dozens of studios under the Xbox umbrella. The strategy shifted from winning a console war to building what Spencer called "the Netflix of gaming."
Sarah Bond's exit is equally surprising. She'd been rising through Xbox leadership, handling external partnerships and most recently serving as Xbox president. Bond was widely seen as a potential successor to Spencer and had become one of the most visible executives at Xbox events. Her departure alongside Spencer suggests this isn't just a retirement - it's a complete reset of Microsoft Gaming's leadership team.
