Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are departing their roles at Xbox, according to reporting by IGN, marking a major change in leadership and potentially direction at one of the industry’s most significant publishers.

Spencer will be replaced by Asha Sharma, who joined Microsoft in 2024 as President of its CoreAI product. Xbox president Bond, who had previously been regarded was as Spencer’s heir apparent as Microsoft Gaming CEO, has instead reportedly resigned from her role.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty will be promoted to chief content officer, working alongside Sharma.

In an email to staff, Spencer wrote “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.”

Bond joined Xbox in 2017 as VP overseeing partnerships after a career at consultancy firm McKinsey, and became president of the brand in 2023. She became a regular spokesperson for the brand, initially during its acquisition of Activision, but also during many consumer-facing events thereafter.

Spencer, meanwhile, spent his entire career at Microsoft, starting out in software management before moving over to the company’s games division following the launch of Xbox in 2001. He held a number of senior roles in the Xbox publishing division, and was briefly European GM before being elevated to VP following the departure of Shane Kim in 2009.

He was leading the publishing organisation through the development of the ill-fated Xbox One, and after division head Don Mattrick left following the device’s catastrophic launch was named Head of Xbox in 2014

His leadership was characterised by a willingness to engage with the community and a focus on core gaming brands, willingly engaging on social media and livestreams while resurrecting brands like Killer Instinct and Battletoads.

Both Spencer and Bond have lead the Xbox brand through a major acquisition spree that saw it accumulate Bethesda, Activision, Double Fine and Obsidian, with previous purchases including Minecraft creator Mojang. A focus on driving subscription revenue saw the rollout of the controversial unified branding which downplayed the hardware platform in favour of a unified software platform across both Xbox devices and PC.

The division now contains a formidable portfolio representing some of the largest brands in gaming, but has come under increasing pressure from its parent company with reportedly high margin requirements.

Their successors will inherit a brand greatly expanded from its low point following the Xbox One launch, but bearing significant costs and escalating commercial pressures that have driven major cuts at other publishers and platform holders.