It was suddenly announced last week that Phil Spencer, who led the Xbox brand for over a decade, would be retiring from Microsoft effective immediately. This seemed like a gut punch for the console giant when Xbox boss Sarah Bond announced her departure to the world as the news broke.
Since then, many have speculated whether this retirement was planned or a deliberate change in leadership by Microsoft after Xbox failed to keep up with PlayStation or Nintendo in the video game space.
After numerous acquisitions over the last console generation failed to come to fruition, Xbox's future is being questioned more than ever. Let's investigate all the things, conspiracy theories and more.
Is Phil Spencer retired or driven out?
Spencer first joined Microsoft as an intern in 1988 and has worked on the Xbox brand since its launch in 2001. He was there from the highest to the lowest and was tasked with guiding the Xbox One into unfamiliar lands after it got off to a not-so-great start. But he was always fighting a losing battle and struggling to win back the favor of fans while the PS4 and Nintendo Switch churned out amazing exclusive experiences.
There were bright sparks and moments of hope with the introduction of features like backwards compatibility and more powerful hardware, but the constant stream of underwhelming exclusive games and studio acquisitions that fell victim to the relentless realities of triple-A development meant it was impossible to even complete them, let alone keep up.
But in these situations, it was always clear that Phil Spencer loved video games and had a vision, despite having to adhere to Microsoft's corporate requirements. He was a man with a heart for a company that put numbers and profits above all else. This was evident in the farewell email he sent to his employees, detailing everything he had intended to do as head of Xbox for many years.
The official story is that Spencer made clear his intention to retire last year and has started making plans for his successor, Asha Sharma. However, people like Kinda Funny's Greg Miller have countered this public photo by claiming that Spencer's retirement was not planned at all. Sarah Bond then stepped down from his position and decided to resign in retaliation.
We're theoretically at the start of Xbox's 25th anniversary. In theory, this should be something to celebrate and an opportunity to cement the brand in the public consciousness more than ever before. So what if they suddenly oust a face that enthusiasts associate with the brand, leaving in his place a former AI executive whose Twitter account is filled with bot responses to players asking about his gaming experience? It all feels fishy.
There's no way to know the full story right now, and we may not know more details until months, or even years, go by. But this feels strangely unceremonious. It feels like Microsoft simply had enough of declining profits and declining brand awareness and decided it was time to finally do something about it. Perhaps the familiar Xbox will go away, 'Microsoft Gaming' will try to take its place, and people like Spencer and Bond will no longer be part of that conversation. Either way, things are changing in a huge, huge way.
Is Xbox's new head lying about being a gamer?
Blaming the new female lead from a gaming company like Xbox for not playing games makes me sound like the host of a toxic podcast, but I promise I'm going somewhere with this.
Last week, Xbox's new head Asha Sharma spoke to outlets like Variety about the vision she has for the brand and the games the studio makes. Sharma also spoke out against the use of “soulless AI slop” in video games, pointing to games like Campo Santo's Firewatch as examples of narrative excellence.
Sharma isn't aware of the tumultuous state the industry is currently in, and wouldn't be too shocked if further closures and cancellations occur in the near future since Spencer can no longer talk to studios about the merits of specific titles. Xbox is currently at a crossroads as it looks to redefine itself with its next-gen offerings, making one final assault on the console market before exiting the game. A lot of things will have to go smoothly if you want any chance of staying relevant.
But take a look at the fake gamer's claims and how a player came forward to criticize Sharma after discovering his Xbox Live profile. The account appears to have been created just over a month ago and has racked up over 10,000 Gamerscore since then. In terms of games played, it appears to be a good mix, from everything to old triple-A cult classics like Borderlands 2 to recent indie games like Ball x Pit.
There is no doubt that Sharma uses this account regularly. I could see this account playing later that evening, especially after chatting with players who recommended Borderlands 2 on Twitter. But I also understand the concern that this account may have been beefed up in some form to give Sharma some form of credibility in the eyes of gamers.
Phil Spencer, despite all his missteps during his tenure, was greatly appreciated by the public for his love for the medium. There are anecdotes of fans playing with him in Fallout 76 or comparing performances online to see how hard Spencer worked on a particular title. Ousting that leadership and replacing it with someone new will bring comparisons about gamer credentials to the surface, so perhaps Microsoft has seen fit to cover its back, even if it only takes a few minutes to reveal the truth. It's another conspiracy theory, but I wouldn't put it past any corporate encroachment to ingratiate themselves with their audience.
Will Xbox continue with multiplatform releases?
Xbox's current multiplatform strategy remains unchanged. Given that this felt like company policy rather than Spencer's own vision (his praise for exclusive titles suggests he was more likely to back off on this policy in the first place), this overhaul won't affect Xbox games being released on other consoles. Several games have performed amazingly on PS5, including Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones, and The Great Circle.
There is an active audience for titles already available on Game Pass that are willing to buy the full-price version if it falls on their platform of choice. Fable also launches on day one on PS5, so it looks like this strategy will continue even as new hardware is released.
Is Microsoft still planning to release another Xbox?
Again, it's unclear what form this will take and whether it will be delayed due to continued RAM and storage shortages, but this appears to be the plan moving forward. However, recent reports suggest that the game will be released in 2027 and will be sold as a console/PC hybrid with access to major digital stores like Steam and Epic.
We want to bring together all the places we play our games for convenience, just as Game Pass and Play Anywhere already do. It may seem unpopular with employees, but Microsoft believes it's all about Xbox. Whether this can compete with the next-gen PlayStation is anyone's guess. This is because it depends on so many factors, from price to exclusive products, brand loyalty, and benefits.
After one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent history, big changes are coming to Xbox, whether we like it or not. I won't miss Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, but I'm very curious whether ousting them from their positions will be the change in fortunes Xbox needs, or if it will only accelerate the descent into an early grave. Check back in a year to see how it all went.
- brand
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microsoft
- original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- operating system
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Proprietary (Windows-based)
