Longtime Xbox head and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is retiring.
We broke this news earlier this afternoon, alongside the news that Xbox president Sarah Bond is also departing the company, with current president of Microsoft CoreAI Asha Sharma taking Spencer's place at the top of the gaming division.
While we've previously shared Spencer's internal email to the company, Spencer has since taken to social media to post a more personal message to the gaming community, thanking those who made his work "full of joy and wonder."
It’s rare in life to know when a chapter is closing, but after 38 years at Microsoft, that moment has arrived for me. I’ve made the decision to retire and begin the next chapter of my life. It’s a milestone that’s given me a chance to reflect on the incredible journey I’ve been…
Here's his public statement, in full:
Spencer has, as stated, been with Microsoft fo 38 years, beginning in 1988 as an internal and joining the Xbox team in 2001, eventually being named head of Xbox in 2014. At the time, Spencer's task was to set the division on course again after a series of product and policy decisions that had left the Xbox community frustrated. Spencer has been known throughout his tenure as one of the few gaming executives in the industry who was himself openly a gamer, often playing with community members and showing off his various achievements in Xbox games over the years.
Spencer led initiatives such as the launch of Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, numerous accessibility achievements, and oversaw the release of the Xbox Series consoles. He also instigated numerous studio acquisitions, beginning with Playground Games, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Compulsion in 2018 and capping it off by picking up Activision Blizzard in 2022 for $69 billion. In recent years, he has continued to steer Xbox amid growing criticism of the brand for its lack of strong first-party exclusives, ongoing price increases, and decreased value of Game Pass.
Spencer's retirement will officially take effect on February 23, 2026.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
