I’d be surprised if Xbox is a thing in 5 years after this news. The way things are right now Microsoft can’t make an Xbox console that will succeed by any metric. Maybe it’ll stick around as software.

Phil had to salvage the brand after the fucking disaster that was Xbox One and I don’t think he was terrible but it clearly wasn’t working out.

Replacing him with the head of Core AI is a fucking joke though.

With the cost of hardware skyrocketing and Sony closing studios gaming is in a really dark place right now.

Literal definition of Monkey's Paw:

All the Phil Spencer haters get to rejoice that he is gone. But now he is replaced by a woman who has only ever had AI related positions at Microsoft, and previously worked at Meta.

Even her letter to employees sounds AI generated.

Spencer leaving Microsoft: Yay!

Spencer being replaced by a Marketing Exec who leads an AI division: FUUUUUUCK

Crazy how Microsoft spent the GDP of a decent sized country on acquiring game developers to bolster Xbox, then gave that strategy about 25 months to actually work before deciding "nevermind, pivot to AI then sell it for parts."

Considering how the person replacing Spencer has been known from leading Microsoft's AI division and isn't much of a gamer, this doesn't make Xbox's future rosy. Dwindling sales, large layoffs and RAM prices skyrocketing... I highly doubt they can build a competitive console.

I would leave a flaming wreck too.

I'll not sure Spencer had been doing a great job, but this feels incredibly abrupt and makes me wonder if Xbox's next generation hardware plans are cancelled in favor of a software and AI approach. The new CEO being an AI suit makes me think they want to take shit it a very different direction.

Microslop is making a number of baffling choices that were influenced by huffing the farts of Satya and other AI fools. Asha Sharma is in no way capable of running Xbox anywhere but into the ground (not like she'll have to do much, given the state of Xbox). Phil Spencer retiring from Microslop is probably a move he made knowing they are going to continue their downward spiral. Sarah Bond resigning from her position is a curious one. I wonder if Microslop execs talked future plans for Xbox with her, and felt so stunned by their incompetence, Sarah decided to abandon the Xbox division. There are other factors likely involved, but, I doubt we'll be privy to those details just yet. When the postmortem of Xbox is released...The people involved might talk about, at least I hope so.

As I don't feel Xbox as a console has a future, my current plan is to abandon Xbox as a platform. It will take time because right now buying an upgraded Gaming PC will be difficult, due to the insanity of hardware prices. For now, I'll have to simply save my money and bide my time.

Phil was probably the last thing keep Xbox from fully imploding. You could tell he was an actual gamer that cared about the Xbox as a games console and not whatever Frankenstein they are going to turn it into.

It’s sad but Xbox had a really good run. Xbox won’t exist beyond the next console generation, it may not even make it that far before it just becomes gamepass.

PlayStation outlives yet another competitor.

They're gonna fuck up Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, aren't they? I was cautiosly optimistic about those two under Phil, but I'm pretty sure they're doomed now

Microsoft needs to have a sit down with Sega on how to become a decent 3rd party developer.

I was going to say "good riddance", but considering that his replacement is a former AI exec... Lol.

To be fair, I don't envy anyone who is put in charge of the mess that is Xbox right now.

I wonder how much of this is the big bet that they placed on buying up Activision Blizzard (plus other studios) and not being able to show enough growth on Gamepass?

And now of course, with skyrocketing hardware costs, and the ripple effects of tariffs before that, even putting MS’s preoccupation with cloud services and AI to one side, the console business probably isn’t the money spinner it once was.

After Mattrick, they probably shouldn't have promoted internally from the executive class that went along with the pivot of internal studios to kinect and home theater media center. They needed leadership that knew how to deliver quality games on time. Saw Sony hit its stride mid-PS3 era with the advent of the AAA narrative action adventure game and could never adjust to that. I know American company, but maybe they should have looked to Sega, Capcom, Koei Tecmo to lead Xbox game studios and someone else to lead hardware and services. Xbox was at its best when it was paying for timed exclusives in the 360 era from third parties and funding 2nd party exclusives. Their internal studio production has been weak for like 20 years. Halo, Gears, Forza Motorsport, Fable has fallen to all of them in the doldrums and Forza Horizon being their only high tier Xbox associated IP now. I'd take someone from Square Enix today to lead Xbox studios today. The last decade they've churned out games even though mostly not AAA, they're mostly solid games and satisfy a lot of niches like Dragon Quest Monsters. Square Enix games are oddly experimental and creative for such a large publisher. Something Xbox sorely lacks. Master Chief is barely surviving as a console mascot and that's practically all they have at this point. Conker and Banjo are irrelevant with how they've handled those IPs

How sad for Obsidian Entertainment to go the same way as Black Isle Studios... but they probably will when the Xbox division completely fails.

A simultaneous retirement/resignation says to me that the two of them were asked to do something very stupid or very unethical. And they've stomached a lot of unethical lately.

Makes sense, Xbox is barely a thing anymore