Ex-President's shift away from Xbox consoles to cloud gaming reportedly caused friction

The retirement of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has raised more doubts about the future of Xbox. President Sarah Bond's decision to step down may also reflect tension within the company. A paywalled new report from The Verge details how employees resisted her move away from traditional consoles.

Tom Warren notes how the Microsoft blog post on February 20th did not address Sarah Bond’s departure. While Spencer credited the executive for her efforts, she didn’t comment until providing an update on LinkedIn. Many questions lingered about what led to the sudden announcement.

Details emerging about turmoil at Xbox

Bond became Xbox President in 2023, not long after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard was complete. According to the Senior Editor, her immediate focus was to expand Microsoft Gaming’s customer base. Play Anywhere and cloud gaming on Windows handhelds, mobile devices, and smart TVs were crucial to this plan. However, the lack of emphasis on Xbox consoles caused division among employees.

The Verge article reveals that the “strategy had been failing internally and been questioned multiple times.” Several workers who had operated under the former President left the company, signaling discontent. Warren spoke to the remaining employees and discovered that many were “relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft”. Other sources label the executive as “tough to work with”, but compliment her business acumen.

Could Xbox return to its roots?

Detailed in Microsoft’s latest quarterly earnings report, Bond’s confusing This Is an Xbox campaign hasn’t boosted profits. Yet, facing plummeting hardware revenue, fans could see another change in direction.

As Asha Sharma takes over as Microsoft Gaming CEO, critics have questioned her reliance on AI. She also made a series of gaming-related social media posts that didn’t convince skeptics. Nevertheless, in her message to readers, Sharma heralded the “return of Xbox”. This shift could entail again prioritizing first-party Xbox exclusive games and hardware.

Despite some reason for optimism, Microsoft will find it difficult to reverse course now. It has invested heavily in cloud gaming and cross-platform publishing on rival platforms like the PS5. Also, the rumored new Xbox console may not be particularly couch-friendly, as it reportedly runs on Windows.