Xbox's Phil Spencer Retires, Gamers Vow To Switch Platforms

Xbox has experienced a bit of an internal shake-up, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer set to retire on Monday.

As IGN has reported, Spencer’s retirement from Microsoft ends his 38-year career at the company since he joined as an intern in 1988. His final day at Microsoft comes just months before Xbox’s 25th anniversary.

Along with the news of Spencer’s retirement, Xbox President Sarah Bond has also announced her resignation from Microsoft despite previous speculation that she was set to be Spencer’s replacement following his retirement.

Spencer will be replaced by Asha Sharma as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming. She is currently the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI product. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has also been promoted to Chief Content Officer.

Sharma’s career at Microsoft began in 2024, joining as President of CoreAI Product, where her role was to “oversee the teams and technologies that power AI across Microsoft and its enterprise customers”.

Prior to this, she was attached to companies like Meta, Instacart, and Porch Group.

Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Xbox Players Are Unhappy With The Shake-Up

Xbox fans have been rather unhappy with the announcement since it was revealed on Friday evening, particularly with Sharma’s association with AI. Many also claim that this might be the move that gets them to switch to a different platform.

“This doesn't give anybody any confidence in the future of Xbox,” writes one gamer on the Xbox Reddit page.

“This is a sad scene,” writes another. “Definitely going the PC route after this, even though the price of gpu's are outrageous already thanks to AI. Might even have to find another hobby.”

“Her entire portfolio is AI. So Microsoft, who already is getting s*** on for forcing Copilot into everything, is putting an AI centric person as head of Xbox,” reads another reply. “Great. As if I wasn't already inching towards Steam as is.”

“It's been a terrible run, boys. Xbox 360 was our golden age and will never return again,” another reads.

Xbox has seen a lot of criticism in the past few years for various controversies.

It came under fire for its acquisition and then subsequent closure of various studios, including Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and The Initiative.

The brand also saw fans unhappy when it raised the prices of hardware and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions in 2025, and criticism has also been associated with wider Microsoft controversies such as its AI-heavy push and landing on the BDS movement boycott list.