Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has announced his retirement from Microsoft after nearly 40 years, amid a major leadership shakeup for the gaming brand that’ll see Microsoft’s current president of CoreAI, Asha Sharma, take over the role. Additionally, Xbox president Sarah Bond will depart the company.
“Last fall, I shared with [Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella] that I was thinking about stepping back and starting the next chapter of my life,” Spencer – who joined Microsoft in 1998 and became the boss of Xbox in 2014 – wrote in an email to staff. “From that moment, we aligned on approaching this transition with intention, ensuring stability, and strengthening the foundation we’ve built. Xbox has always been more than a business. It’s a vibrant community of players, creators, and teams who care deeply about what we build and how we build it. And it deserves a thoughtful, deliberate plan for the road ahead.”
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Microsoft Gaming as Asha Sharma steps into the role of CEO, and I want to be the first to welcome her to this incredible team,” Spencer continued. “She brings genuine curiosity, clarity and a deep commitment to understanding players, creators, and the decisions that shape our future. We know this is an important moment for our fans, partners, and team, and we’re committed to getting it right.” Spencer added that he’ll remain in an advisory role “through the summer”.
As part of his retirement announcement, Spencer also confirmed the departure of Xbox president Sarah Bond, who he said had “decided to leave Microsoft to begin a new chapter.” He called Bond’s work “instrumental during a defining period for Xbox”, wishing her “the very best in what comes next”. Bond joined Xbox in 2017 and was named Xbox president in 2022. As for Xbox Game Studios
In her first email to staff as CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Sharma wrote, “I feel two things at once: humility and urgency. Humility because this team has built something extraordinary over decades. Urgency because gaming is in a period of rapid change, and we need to move with clarity and conviction.”
“I am stepping into work shaped by generations of artists, engineers, designers, writers, musicians, operators and more who create worlds that have brought joy and deep personal meaning to hundreds of millions of players,” Sharma continued. “The level of craft here is exceptional, and it is amplified by Xbox, which was founded in the belief that the power of games connect people and push the industry forward… We are stewards of some of the most loved stories and characters in entertainment and bring players and creators together around the fun and community of gaming in entirely new ways.”
Sharma also made what she called “three commitments”, referencing “great games”, the “return of Xbox”, and the “future of play”. On games, she said Microsoft – which has made sweeping cuts across its gaming division in recent years, including layoffs and team closures – will “empower our studios, invest in iconic franchises, and back bold new ideas.” She also promised to “take risks” and “enter new categories and markets where we can add real value, grounded in what players care about most.”
On the return of Xbox, Sharma said the company would “celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are… Gaming now lives across devices, not within the limits of any single piece of hardware. As we expand across PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise.” Sharma did not explicitly reference the “next-gen hardware” announced by then-president Sarah Bond last year amid reports Microsoft was ending console development.
On the future, Sharma spoke of the “reinvention of play”, pledging to “invent new business models and new ways to play” that will “meet the moment”. This will include the building of “a shared platform and tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories”. Additionally, she promised the team 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.”
“The next 25 years belong to the teams who dare to build something surprising, something no one else is willing to try, and have the patience to see it through,” Sharma concluded. “We have done this before, and I am here to help us do it again. I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place. It will require us to relentlessly question everything, revisit processes, protect what works, and be brave enough to change what does not. Thank you for welcoming me into this journey.”
In a separate email to staff, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Sharma would bring “deep experience building and growing platforms, aligning business models to long-term value, and operating at global scale, which will be critical in leading our gaming business into its next era of growth.” He also thanked Spencer for his “extraordinary leadership and partnership”.