Several days later, the industry is still reeling from the leadership shake-up at Xbox. Among the many surprises from Phil Spencer’s retirement as Microsoft Gaming CEO is that Sarah Bond, Xbox president, will not be succeeding him. Instead, she resigned from the company to pursue a “new chapter.”
However, things may not have been so cut-and-dry. Sources speaking to The Verge’s Tom Warren reportedly reveal that Bond faced mixed receptions from employees following the launch of “This is an Xbox.” It initially began with Jerret West, Xbox’s Chief Marketing Director, leaving the company in June 2024. Marketing teams would thus report to Bond, and a month later, Microsoft began pushing the idea that an Xbox was no longer necessary.
The goal was apparently to focus on cloud gaming and mobile as platforms for enjoying games under the Xbox umbrella, culminating in the aforementioned marketing campaign, which allegedly “offended many employees internally.” Bond was also reportedly difficult to work with, according to current and former employees. Those who believed in her vision seemingly had a place on her team, but even questioning it apparently meant being shipped out.
Internally, the strategy was reportedly “failing” and “questioned multiple times.” Warren also noted how, aside from Spencer, none of the other key figures who posted memos – be it CEO Satya Nadella, recently-promoted Chief Content Officer Matt Booty and new gaming CEO Asha Sharma – mentioned Bond.
Wherever the company goes from here, there’s seemingly a focus on returning to a more Xbox-centric business, as indicated by Sharma’s statement. It has a way to go, especially with the next Xbox console apparently targeting 2027.