After nearly 40 years with Microsoft, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is set to retire on Monday, February 23. Xbox's current president Sarah Bond will also resign, after joining the company in 2017.
Spencer will be replaced as CEO by Asha Sharma, IGN reports, who is currently serving as the product development lead and president of Microsoft's CoreAI product. Before working with Microsoft, Sharma was COO at Instacart, the grocery delivery service. She is also on the board of Home Depot.
In an email sent to Microsoft staff obtained by IGN, Spencer expresses his desire for "stepping back and starting the next chapter of my life," though he'll remain at Xbox "through the summer" as an advisor. He says about Sharma, "Working with her over the past several months has given me tremendous confidence. She brings genuine curiosity, clarity and a deep commitment to understanding players, creators, and the decisions that shape our future."
Matt Booty, current head of Xbox Game Studios, will move up to becoming executive vice president and chief content officer, reporting directly to Sharma. "As part of this transition, Sarah Bond has decided to leave Microsoft to begin a new chapter," Spencer says.
In Sharma's own email addressing staff, she makes what she calls "three commitments" to "great games," "the return of Xbox," and, even more vague, the "future of play."
"We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are," Sharma says. "We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us."
GamesRadar+ has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
