Following the shocking retirement of Phil Spencer and Asha Sharma becoming the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Chief Content Officer Matt Booty revealed his own thoughts on all the changes. Alongside excitement at working with Sharma and “good reasons to believe in what’s ahead,” he would focus on “supporting the teams and leaders we have in place and creating the conditions for them to do their best work.”
Of course, major changes tend to precede lay-offs (just ask Ubisoft). However, Booty clarified that, “there are no organizational changes underway for our studios.” Then again, as always, things could change down the line.
Last Summer, Xbox Game Studios canceled three major projects – Perfect Dark, Everwild and Blackbird (a new IP from ZeniMax). It also closed The Initiative and laid off employees across almost all studios. Turn 10 Studios, for example, was essentially reduced to a support studio, wrapping up development on Forza Motorsport. It’s currently working on the PS5 port of Forza Horizon 6.
There’s no denying that the 2026 line-up is looking very strong, though. Beyond Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, launching in May and Fall respectively, there’s Gears of War: E-Day (allegedly set for the second half of the year) and Halo: Campaign Evolved (reportedly launching before September). Grounded 2 has also proven a strong success in early access, though Obsidian’s Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 failed to meet sales expectations.
Still, there’s a lot to come, and that’s not even getting into the next Xbox, which is reportedly targeting 2027 (assuming the RAM shortages don’t prove too disruptive). Stay tuned for more details, and check out the rumors about Microsoft’s vision for the next generation of consoles.
