Phil Spencer is retiring from Microsoft, Asha Sharma named replacement

Today, Microsoft shared big news for its Gaming division at the company. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer announced he decided to retire after almost 40 years at Microsoft and 12 years leading Xbox. Asha Sharma will become the next CEO of Xbox, and over the last two years, she has been involved as an executive with Microsoft AI.

Matt Booty has also been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Asha. Xbox President Sarah Bond decided to depart Microsoft to “pursue her next chapter,” the announcement shared.

Asha Sharma made a post on social media sharing that her three commitments are Great Games, Return of Xbox, and Future of Play.

“I promoted Matt Booty in honor of this commitment. He understands the craft and the challenges of building great games, has led teams that deliver award-winning work, and has earned the trust of game developers across the industry.”

While the new Xbox boss has a background with AI does not mean the company will dive more into it, as some fans worry. Here is what Sharma has to say about AI:

“As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, 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. “

What are your thoughts of the recent changes at Xbox?