Hello hello.
It was looking like a quiet edition of the Micro this week, until Sony closed a popular studio, and then Microsoft undertook a major shake-up of the Xbox leadership team.
So, in a break from the norm this week, I am going to focus on those two big stories in my analysis. Before recapping the other key stories of the week. Let me know what you think.
Here we go.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer retires, replaced by Asha Sharma
In Brief: Phil Spencer, the CEO for Gaming at Microsoft, will retire. The new head of gaming at Microsoft will be Asha Sharma, who was previously head of coreAI at the technology giant. Xbox president and COO Sarah Bond is stepping down, while head of game studios Matt Booty is remaining in a new, bigger role: chief content officer.
What You Need To Know:
Spencer and Bond will stay on as advisors until the summer.
Spencer has been part of Microsoft for 38 years, and part of the Xbox group since 2003, initially in senior roles running the various gaming studios. He took the lead role at Xbox in 2014, and has overseen the release of Xbox Series S and X, and the acquisitions of Bethesda, Activision Blizzard and more.
Bond joined Xbox in 2017, and took the COO and president position in 2023.
Sharma only joined Microsoft in 2024, having previously been COO of Instacart. She was also VP of product and engineering at Meta for four years, overseeing messenger.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote: “Together, Asha and Matt have the right combination of consumer product leadership and gaming depth to push our platform innovation and content pipeline forward.”
Sharma added: “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.”
And Spencer: “[Sharma] 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.”
My Take:
