- Insider claims Phil Spencer was forced to retire earlier than he planned to.
- Initially, Sarah Bond was set to replace Phil as Xbox’s new CEO.
- Both of these executives left their positions because of the gaming division’s poor performance last year.
Yesterday, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer announced that he’ll be stepping down from his role after dedicating 38 years of his life to the gaming giant. In a new message shared publicly, Phil said he had been thinking about retiring for nearly a year now.
However, that apparently wasn’t the case, according to a new report, which suggests that Phil originally intended to retire after the release of the next-gen Xbox and is now being forced out of his role early due to last year’s underperformance for the gaming division.
Why it matters: It seems like Xbox is set to enter a new generation with a major shift from its past strategy, and as such, the older leadership being part of this change wouldn’t be a good fit.
On social media, reliable insider Ghost of Hope stated that Phil was originally supposed to step down from his CEO role after the release of the next-gen Xbox. Sarah Bond would’ve succeeded Phil as the new CEO, but unfortunately, she too has retired from her previous role as President of Xbox.
Now, Asha Sharma has been named the new CEO for Xbox. She was previously part of Microsoft’s CoreAI Products team and has been with Microsoft for just 2 years, with no experience in gaming. Meanwhile, Matt Booty has been promoted to Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Content Officer and will report to Asha.
As for why these older executives are stepping down, well, 2025 was rock bottom for Microsoft’s gaming divisions. None of their first-party games had the impact they expected, and hardware sales also fell to an all-time low. The only surviving pillar, Game Pass, also experienced a steep fall.
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[Staff Writer]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheerzahid03@gmail.com
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