Satya NadellaChairman and CEOand members of his executive team shared the following communications with employees today.
SATYA NADELLA MESSAGE
Gaming has been part of Microsoft from the start. Flight Simulator shipped before Windowsand you can practically ray‑trace a line from DirectX in the ’90s to the accelerated‑compute era we’re in today.
As we celebrate Xbox’s 25th yearthe opportunity and innovation agenda in front of us is expansive. Today we reach over 500 million monthly active usersare a top publisher across all platformsand continue to innovate across gaming hardwarecontentand communityin service of creators and players everywhere.
I am long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambitionand as we look aheadI’m excited to share that Asha Sharma will become Executive Vice President and CEOMicrosoft Gamingreporting to me. Over the last two years at Microsoftand previously as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at MetaAsha has helped build and scale services that reach billions of people and support thriving consumer and developer ecosystems. She brings deep experience building and growing platformsaligning business models to long-term valueand operating at global scalewhich will be critical in leading our gaming business into its next era of growth.
Matt Booty will become Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officerreporting to Asha. Matt’s career reflects a lifelong commitment to games and to the people who make them. Under his leadershipMicrosoft Gaming has grown to span nearly 40 studios across XboxBethesdaActivision Blizzardand Kingwhich are home to beloved franchises including HaloThe Elder ScrollsCall of DutyWorld of WarcraftDiabloCandy Crushand Fallout.
TogetherAsha and Matt have the right combination of consumer product leadership and gaming depth to push our platform innovation and content pipeline forward. Last yearPhil Spencer made the decision to retire from the companyand since then we’ve been talking about succession planning. I want to thank Phil for his extraordinary leadership and partnership. Over 38 years at Microsoftincluding 12 years leading GamingPhil helped transform what we do and how we do it. He expanded our reach across PCmobileand cloud; nearly tripled the size of the business; helped shape our strategy through the acquisitions of Activision BlizzardZeniMaxand Minecraft; and strengthened our culture across our studios and platforms. I’ve long admired Phil’s unwavering commitment to playerscreatorsand his teamand I am personally grateful for his leadership and counsel. He will continue working closely with Asha to ensure a smooth transition.
We have extraordinary creative talent across our studios and a global platform that is second to none. I’m excited for how we will capture the opportunity ahead and define what comes nextwhile staying grounded in what players and creators value.
Please join me in congratulating Asha and Matt on their new rolesand in thanking Phil for everything he has done for Microsoft and for our industry.
PHIL SPENCER MESSAGE
When I walked through Microsoft’s doors as an intern in June of 1988I could never have imagined the products I’d help buildthe players and customers we’d serveor the extraordinary teams I’d be lucky enough to join. It’s been an epic ride and truly the privilege of a lifetime.
Last fallI shared with Satya that I was thinking about stepping back and starting the next chapter of my life. From that momentwe aligned on approaching this transition with intentionensuring stabilityand strengthening the foundation we’ve built. Xbox has always been more than a business. It’s a vibrant community of playerscreatorsand teams who care deeply about what we build and how we build it. And it deserves a thoughtfuldeliberate plan for the road ahead.
Today marks an exciting new chapter for Microsoft Gaming as Asha Sharma steps into the role of CEOand I want to be the first to welcome her to this incredible team. Working with her over the past several months has given me tremendous confidence. She brings genuine curiosityclarity and a deep commitment to understanding playerscreatorsand the decisions that shape our future. We know this is an important moment for our fanspartnersand teamand we’re committed to getting it right. I’ll remain in an advisory role through the summer to support a smooth handoff.
I’m also grateful for the strength of our studios organization. Matt Booty and our studios teams continue to build an incredible portfolioand I have full confidence in the leadership and creative momentum across our global studios. I want to congratulate Matt on his promotion to EVP and Chief Content Officer.
As part of this transitionSarah Bond has decided to leave Microsoft to begin a new chapter. Sarah has been instrumental during a defining period for Xboxshaping our platform strategyexpanding Game Pass and cloud gamingsupporting new hardware launchesand guiding some of the most significant moments in our history. I’m grateful for her partnership and the impact she’s hadand I wish her the very best in what comes next.
Most of allto everyone in Microsoft GamingI want to say “thank you.” I’ve learned so much from this team and communitygrown alongside youand been continually inspired by the creativitycourageand care you bring to playerscreatorsand to one another every day.
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together over the last 25 yearsand I have complete confidence in all of you and in the opportunities ahead. I’ll be cheering you on in this next chapter as Xbox’s proudest fan and player.
Phil
XBL: P3
ASHA SHARMA MESSAGE
Dear team,
Today I begin my role as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
I feel two things at once: humility and urgency.
Humility because this team has built something extraordinary over decades. Urgency because gaming is in a period of rapid changeand we need to move with clarity and conviction.
I am stepping into work shaped by generations of artistsengineersdesignerswritersmusiciansoperators and more who create worlds that have brought joy and deep personal meaning to hundreds of millions of players. The level of craft here is exceptionaland it is amplified by Xboxwhich was founded in the belief that the power of games connects people and pushes the industry forward.
Thank you to Phil for his leadershipand to every studioplatformand operations team that built this foundation. 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.
My first job is simple: understand what makes this work and protect it.
That starts with three commitments.
Firstgreat games.
Everything begins here. We must have great games beloved by players before we do anything. Unforgettable charactersstories that make us feelinnovative game playand creative excellence. We will empower our studiosinvest in iconic franchisesand back bold new ideas. We will take risks. We will enter new categories and markets where we can add real valuegrounded in what players care about most.
I promoted Matt Booty in honor of this commitment. He understands the craft and the challenges of building great gameshas led teams that deliver award-winning workand has earned the trust of game developers across the industry.
Secondthe return of Xbox.
We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and playersthose who have invested with us for the past 25 yearsand to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world.
We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xboxand to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.
Gaming now lives across devicesnot within the limits of any single piece of hardware. As we expand across PCmobileand cloudXbox should feel seamlessinstantand worthy of the communities we serve. We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise.
Thirdfuture of play.
We are witnessing the reinvention of play.
To meet the momentwe will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teamscharactersand worlds that people love. But we will not treat those worlds as static IP to milk and monetize. We will build a shared platform and tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories.
As monetization and AI evolve and influence this futurewe will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be artcrafted by humansand created with the most innovative technology provided by us.
The next 25 years belong to the teams who dare to build something surprisingsomething no one else is willing to tryand have the patience to see it through. We have done this beforeand I am here to help us do it again. I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place. It will require us to relentlessly question everythingrevisit processesprotect what worksand be brave enough to change what does not.
Thank you for welcoming me into this journey.
Asha
MATT BOOTY MESSAGE
I read Phil’s note with much gratitude. He has been a steady champion for game creators and our studio teamsand I’ve learned so much from his leadership over the years. All our games have benefited from his foundational support. I’m also grateful to Satya for his ongoing commitment to gaming and holding a vision of how it can connect back to the larger company.
Looking forwardI’m excited to partner with Asha as our next CEO. Our first conversations centered on her commitment to making great games and the role that plays in our overall success. She asks questionspushes for clarityand wants our choices grounded in player and developer needs. That mindset matters as the industry around us is changing quickly: how players engagehow games are madeand how business models and platforms evolve.
We have good reasons to believe in what’s ahead. This organization and its franchises have navigated change for decadesand our strength comes from teams who know how to adapt and keep delivering. That confidence is grounded in a strong pipeline of established franchisesnew bets we believe inand clear player demand for what we are building.
My focus is on supporting the teams and leaders we have in place and creating the conditions for them to do their best work. To be clearthere are no organizational changes underway for our studios.
Thanks for everything you do for players and for each other.
Matt