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It's the end of an era, as two of the primary architects of the Xbox game platform and the larger Microsoft Gaming are leaving together.

The business face of Xbox for over a decade, Phil Spencer, is stepping down after rising from Microsoft intern to one of Xbox's original staff, to becoming the leader of the game platform, and then getting promoted to be CEO of the larger Microsoft Gaming division. His departure is described by Variety as "retiring," however, Spencer's words on the matter remain a little more vague, calling it a chance to move to "the next chapter" of his life as he recently turned 58.

Joining him in the exit is the person he hired to run Xbox directly, as he got his promotion to Microsoft CEO, Xbox president Sarah Bond. Their departure is also framed in the terms of them wanting to move to their "next chapter."

Spencer states he intends to remain with the team in an advisory role through the summer to "support a smooth handoff."

The handoff will be the transition to incoming Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma, who was hired by the company in 2024 to be a leader of Microsoft's goal of AI-driven applications throughout the organization. She previously served as COO of Instacart and VP of product & engineering at Meta. As part of this shift, Xbox veteran Matt Booty has been promoted to CCO and executive VP of Microsoft Gaming. A clear idea of a new Xbox president (or if that will remain a position going forward) remains unknown. 

"Over the last two years at Microsoft, and previously as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at Meta, Asha has helped build and scale services that reach billions of people and support thriving consumer and developer ecosystems," says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a statement. "She brings deep experience building and growing platforms, aligning business models to long-term value, and operating at global scale, which will be critical in leading our gaming business into its next era of growth.”

In a letter to the Xbox team, Sharma says "We are stewards of some of the most loved stories and characters in entertainment and bring players and creators together around the fun and community of gaming in entirely new ways."

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
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And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.