Talk about industry shattering news. Today we have learned of a massive shakeup at the Xbox corporate offices as longtime Xbox head Phil Spencer is retiring. To make things even more interesting current Xbox President Sarah Bond has resigned. This means the 2 most influential people at the console maker and publisher are now gone.

The news comes first from IGN as they received and e-mail that was sent out by Satya Nadella to Microsoft employees. “I want to thank Phil for his extraordinary leadership and partnership. Over 38 years at Microsoft, including 12 years leading Gaming, Phil helped transform what we do and how we do it.”

Indeed Spencer has been with Microsoft and Xbox for quite some time. Starting as an intern in 1988, he worked his way up to the top position as he became head of Xbox for the last 12 years. His last day is said to be this coming Monday, February 23rd.

Taking over for Spencer will be Asha Sharma. Sharma currently holds the position of President for Microsoft’s CoreAI product. This comes as even more of a shock considering many pegged Sarah Bond to take whenever Spencer did decide to retire, but more on this in a moment.

Spencer, in and email he sent to Microsoft staff, said in part: “Last fall, I shared with Satya that I was thinking about stepping back and starting the next chapter of my life. 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. 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. We know this is an important moment for our fans, partners, and team, and we’re committed to getting it right. I’ll remain in an advisory role through the summer to support a smooth handoff.”

Sarah Bond Resigns, Matt Booty Promoted

The other big piece of news from all of this is that Sarah Bond, the current President of Xbox, is resigning. Long thought of as the heir apparent to Spencer, Bond was the leading voice and driver behind the next iteration of Xbox hardware and helping shape the companies future. It remains to be seen why Bond suddenly left, though one could assume its because she wasn’t the one given the reigns.

Additionally, Matt Booty is now being promoted to the Chief Content Officer and will work side by side with Sharma to help shape the next generation of Xbox. While all of this is a major shock to the system and Xbox community, there at least on the surface appears to be some good things coming out of the messaging today.

In her email to employees one of the key takeaways was Sharma’s seeming commitment to core Xbox users. She said in part: “We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years, and to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world. We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.”

What exactly that means we will have to wait and see. She also seemed to commit to the idea that they will continue to put games on other platforms and expand their user base in that capacity. Whatever happens it is sure to take time and with Xbox’s 2026 expected to be massive with its 25th anniversary celebrations it may take more time to execute any changes.

As a long time Xbox gamer who has been playing on the platform for nearly 20 years it is scary to think about what all this will mean, but I will remain optimistic. Many, including myself thought that Spencer and Bond were the only reason Xbox still existed over at Microsoft. The fact that both of them are now gone and Nadella still seems committed to the brand is at least a good thing.