In late February, Microsoft held its first all-hands meeting since the company restructured its Xbox gaming segment. During the meeting, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma doubled down on her previous commitments to steering Microsoft Gaming in a console-first direction. This is a notable change from the company's prior "everything is an Xbox" strategy, which began under previous Xbox leadership that pivoted the company away from Xbox hardware toward Cloud and subscription gaming.
It's been a momentous few weeks for Xbox. On February 20, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer would be retiring and that President of Xbox Sarah Bond would also be stepping down from her role. Spencer had led Microsoft Gaming for 12 years after being named head of Xbox in 2014. He took over following the launch of the Xbox One. Under his leadership, Xbox moved away from a hardware-first strategy to a more subscription-based one. Spencer ushered in Game Pass and numerous major acquisitions, including Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Along with Bond, Spencer pushed the "everything is an Xbox" strategy. Many believed the leadership role would pass from Spencer to Bond, but in an unexpected turn of events, Microsoft opted to give...
