Articles about Phil Spencer

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief nixes Gaming Copilot for mobile and console, shakes up leadership

New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is winding down Gaming Copilot on mobile and canceling its console launch, barely a year after Microsoft debuted the AI feature. She’s also overhauling the gaming unit’s leadership, including new execs from her previous group, CoreAI. Read More

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief makes first major change, cutting Game Pass price, but with a catch

Microsoft is dropping Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 a month, but future Call of Duty games will no longer be available at launch. It’s the first significant move by new gaming CEO Asha Sharma. Read More

Mary Jo Foley: What the heck is going on with Microsoft lately?

In her debut column for GeekWire, longtime Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley digs into the recent wave of reorgs, hiring freezes, and leadership shakeups in Redmond, and asks whether it’s business as usual or something bigger. Read More

Who is Asha Sharma? A closer look at Microsoft’s surprise pick to lead the Xbox business

Microsoft’s new top gaming exec has the trust of Satya Nadella, a track record running platforms at Facebook, Instacart, and Microsoft’s AI division, and a goal to restore Xbox’s “renegade spirit.” What she doesn’t have is gaming industry experience — and the community is watching closely. Read More

Analysis: The best thing that the new Xbox CEO can do is … nothing

New Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma is in a unique position where she really can succeed in the video game business, despite her inexperience in the field, without really trying. Read More

Xbox chief Phil Spencer retiring after 38 years at Microsoft; Asha Sharma named new gaming CEO

Phil Spencer, who reshaped Xbox through landmark acquisitions and a bet on cloud gaming, is stepping down. His successor, Asha Sharma, has roots in the Seattle startup community, with deep experience in consumer platforms. Xbox President Sarah Bond is leaving. Read More

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shakes up his own job, taps veteran exec as CEO of commercial business

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is handing off day-to-day commercial execution to longtime sales chief Judson Althoff, who takes on the new role of CEO of commercial business. The change frees Nadella to focus more on AI and long-term technology bets. Read More

How Xbox lost its fans, and won them back — and more from a new book about Microsoft innovation

A new book, The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft, finds universal business lessons in the company’s successes and also its failures, through case studies about different products and teams in various scenarios and stages of evolution. Read More

Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer on the video games that influenced his life and career

This year’s Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle opened last week with a keynote presentation by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer,… Read More

Microsoft continues with previously announced layoffs, as Seattle-area total nears 1,500 people

Microsoft notified another round of workers this week that they’re losing their jobs as part of the 10,000 layoffs announced… Read More

Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard deal raises red flags in UK despite ‘Call of Duty’ pledge

Regulators in the UK expressed concern about the competitive implications of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision-Blizzard, saying it… Read More

Microsoft Gaming head confirms Activision’s ‘Call of Duty’ will keep coming to PlayStation

New Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed that the best-selling video game series Call of Duty will continue to… Read More

Series X launch is ‘largest in Xbox history’ as Microsoft tries to meet demand

Microsoft this week had its largest Xbox launch ever. After debuting on Tuesday, the Series X (XSX) and all-digital counterpart… Read More

Microsoft to acquire Elder Scrolls, Fallout, other hit games in $7.5B deal for Bethesda Softworks parent

Microsoft will pay $7.5 billion to acquire the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, the company behind The Elder Scrolls, Fallout,… Read More

Xbox chief lays out gaming inclusivity commitment, calls on industry to adopt ‘fierce urgency for safety’

Microsoft wants to stamp out toxicity, harassment and abuse in gaming, and it called on fellow tech giants to help… Read More

Xbox head Phil Spencer foresees expanded cloud gaming, and more game monetization options

The cloud will increasingly enable you to play the game of your choice on any device of your choice. So… Read More

Microsoft to accelerate growth in gaming as Xbox leader Phil Spencer joins senior leadership team

As part of a strategy to accelerate its gaming business across the company, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella today named Xbox… Read More

Microsoft’s Halo 5 racks up $400M in first week, becomes biggest Halo launch ever

Halo 5: Guardians seems to have lived up to all the hype, tallying $400 million in first-week sales and becoming… Read More

Xbox leader Phil Spencer on Minecraft’s future, the PS4, Microsoft’s eSports plans, and more

Has Microsoft recovered from its early missteps with the Xbox One? What will be the impact of Xbox One backward compatibility?… Read More

Xbox chief Phil Spencer on how Microsoft recovered from early Xbox One blunders

Microsoft learned valuable lessons after some of its most loyal fans were nearly in tears after the Xbox One launch… Read More

Xbox to boost first-party games, reduce focus on third-party exclusives

Exclusive Xbox One games could be the future of the console. At China Joy 2015, Xbox Head Phil Spencer did… Read More

Microsoft sets the stage for an Xbox comeback with big moves at E3

Events at the E3 video-game convention are notoriously over-the-top, like political rallies or religious revivals, but the screams and cheers were on another… Read More

Surprise: Microsoft makes Xbox One compatible with Xbox 360 games

Microsoft just dropped a bomb on the game industry, announcing that the Xbox One will be able to play Xbox… Read More

Microsoft’s games boss Phil Spencer explains real reason for $2.5B Minecraft acquisition

Why did Microsoft buy Minecraft for $2.5 billion? The most obvious reason is that video game is a massive hit:… Read More

Microsoft announces wireless adapter that lets Xbox owners bring their controllers to the PC

SAN FRANCISCO–Xbox head Phil Spencer revealed a new wireless adapter at Microsoft’s keynote session at the Game Developers Conference designed… Read More

Live from GDC: Microsoft’s Phil Spencer on Windows 10 and the future of games

Xbox head Phil Spencer will take the stage here at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco to talk about… Read More

Phil Spencer promises a ‘New Day at Xbox’ as Microsoft’s games chief

Microsoft has appointed one of its own to become the new head of Xbox, but that doesn’t mean you should… Read More

Microsoft names cloud and games chiefs as Nadella’s leadership team takes shape

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella this morning named longtime executive Scott Guthrie as the head of the company’s Cloud and Enterprise… Read More