xbox's new chief content officer emphasizes the importance of its games to Microsoft, suggesting that the gaming giant has no intention of focusing solely on publishing. Microsoft has seen some big changes across its major gaming brands in recent weeks. Several executive positions were changed, old faces of the company said goodbye, and more. Microsoft Gaming President Phil Spencer officially announced his retirement on February 23, and Xbox President Sarah Bond also resigned at the same time. However, Xbox's leadership change has received mixed reactions from the community.
Microsoft's massive leadership shakeup has brought a slew of new faces to the forefront of the Xbox division. Asha Sharma has been appointed as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming following the departure of Phil Spencer, while Xbox also recently appointed Matt Booty as Chief Content Officer. The changes in Xbox's senior ranks have already prompted an uneasy outlook from previous Xbox figures, with Xbox co-founder Seamus Blackley suggesting that Sharma's role will be to “gently push Xbox into the night.” Now a recent interview with Matt Booty suggests Blackley's fears may be unfounded.
Microsoft Issues Statement About Possible Layoffs After Major Xbox Leadership Change
A key figure in Microsoft's leadership shares official commentary on possible layoffs following major changes in Xbox leadership.
Xbox is fully committed to its games, its new CCO says.
Matt Booty, Xbox's new CCO, made some bold statements about the future of the Microsoft Gaming brand in an interview with Windows Central. Booty suggests that Xbox's studios are “completely built around first-party,” and argues that the company “wasn't built” to only act as a publisher and not develop its own first-party. Booty recently insisted that Xbox is “not backing down” on its status as a first-party publisher as the company shifts to releasing some of its biggest franchises on other consoles. Matt Booty and CEO Asha Sharma emphasized that fans shouldn't expect drastic changes right away, as Xbox executives are taking the right steps to keep the Xbox brand moving forward.
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The interview included Asha Sharma's recent personal statement about the Xbox gaming company. Sharma responded to fans' recent concerns about Xbox pushing older first-party games to competing platforms, telling one fan on Twitter in simple terms: “Listen to yourself.” Sharma also addressed fans who worry that Xbox may pursue greater use of AI in games, saying he plans to keep “soulless AI slop” away from the platform. Sharma also spoke about Microsoft's intention to bring its gaming division “back to Xbox” and refocus on improving the console brand.
Sharma has tried to allay fans' concerns, but some of Xbox's biggest names have gone multi-platform in recent years. 2025 saw both. Forza Horizon 5 and Gears of War: Reloaded Take the leap to PlayStation 5. Halo: Evolving the Campaign Xbox has also been criticized by some employees for switching to other consoles and PCs, and Microsoft's “This is an Xbox” advertising campaign has reportedly been unpopular internally. Xbox has yet to confirm any immediate changes to its strategy following Microsoft Gaming's management shake-up.
The big change for Xbox comes as the gaming brand has a slate of high-profile games to release throughout the year. In addition to the previously mentioned Halo: Evolving the CampaignMicrosoft will be making its long-awaited return. fable The franchise plans to release a full reboot developed by Playground Games in 2026. Forza Horizon 6 It's also set to release on May 19th, giving players a ton of cool locations to explore across a stylized version of Japan. Xbox fans will have a lot to look forward to from the company as Microsoft's new gaming leadership settles into their new roles.
