After over 20 years at Xbox, Phil Spencer, the face of the brand for more than a decade, has announced he’s retiring from the company. Sarah Bond, the president at Xbox, is also out and Asha Sharma, the president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product, is taking over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
It sounds bleak for Microsoft’s long-struggling gaming brand, though Sharma said in her initial email to employees that her goal was not to flood the Xbox ecosystem with “soulless AI slop.” Is that the truth or just something you say to placate your workers? Only time will tell, but Microsoft has been notoriously pushing for AI integration in its workflow, so do with that information what you will.
Now that Spencer is out, however, the internet is looking back on his tenure at the company, speculating about whether or not he and Bond were forced out of their leadership positions, and wondering what all this means for the future of Xbox. The forecast is not great.
RIP Xbox. It was a hell of a run. https://t.co/ahCxIfrug8
— RGT 85 (@RGT_85) February 20, 2026
lol fucking called it https://t.co/oZr3p3nCJ5 pic.twitter.com/WPXsoYkrxb
— Shpeshal Nick (@Shpeshal_Nick) February 20, 2026
Sarah Bond was the fall guy at Xbox.
— John Hartsfield (@JackmoveJohnny) February 20, 2026
What I hope isn’t lost in today’s news about Xbox is Phil Spencer’s incredible career in gaming.
Phil is a passionate competitor and a big gamer. You may not have always agreed with the calls, but this industry is better thanks to his involvement. pic.twitter.com/Vqe5T4W067
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) February 20, 2026
Big hug to all my friends at Xbox tonight, my DMs are open if you want to scream into someone’s face. https://t.co/8cYSMkTTHe
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) February 20, 2026
IN THE LAST 24 HOURS
SONY SHUT DOWN BLUEPOINT
PHIL SPENCER IS RETIRING
SARAH BOND RESIGNED
AND NINTENDO IS SELLING $20 POKEMON GBA GAMESWHAT IS GOIN ON BRO
— Nathan (@NSuperGamerGuy) February 20, 2026
Wow. Just wow.
— Larry Hryb, Gamer Emeritus 📱⌨️🖱️🎮 (@majornelson) February 20, 2026
Xbox also posted a small tribute to Spencer, saying that he will always be part of “Team Xbox.”
Once Team Xbox, always Team Xbox. Thank you for everything Phil. 💚 https://t.co/O5TzF0fzhO
— Xbox (@Xbox) February 20, 2026
Spencer will be staying on in an advisory role until the summer, but his retirement will be effective as of Monday, February 23. Whatever happens next remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: It’s going to be a weird day for Xbox employees next Monday when the division’s leadership suddenly looks completely different.
