Microsoft AI lead Asha Sharma becomes CEO of Xbox following Sarah Bond exit and Phil Spencer retirement

Asha Sharma, the former head of CoreAI, has been appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming, taking over the role from veteran Phil Spencer as Xbox president Sarah Bond also moves on.

The details:

• As announced last week, Spencer has officially retired today after 38 years at Microsoft, helping develop some of the first CD-ROM titles at the company and going on to lead its gaming business. “It’s rare in life to know when a chapter is closing, but after 38 years at Microsoft, that moment has arrived for me,” he wrote on X. “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 fortunate enough to share with so many of you.”
• Alongside Spencer’s exit, it has also been announced that Sarah Bond, the COO and President of Xbox, is leaving the company. Originally joining Microsoft in 2017, Bond wrote on LinkedIn that she felt that it was “the right time for me to take my next step, both personally and professionally," and showed support for new gaming lead Sharma. “I’ve had the privilege of spending time with Asha over the last few weeks as we’ve planned for this transition, and I’ve seen firsthand her deep commitment to our players, developers, and brand,” she said. “She brings deep technology and commerce experience, along with a strong track record of building and scaling platforms that the world uses. Xbox deserves this. I’m excited to see her lead this next chapter for our team.
• Sharma, who joined Microsoft in 2024 as the president of its CoreAI division, will now take over Spencer’s role, while Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty is moving to the position of chief content officer.
• Unsurprisingly, her appointment has been met with concern due to her ties to AI, but Sharma has since said to Variety that she has “no tolerance for bad AI” at the company and that it 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,” the executive said in an internal memo.