Xbox boss Phil Spencer retires as Microsoft shakes up gaming unit

Phil Spencer speaks at the Microsoft Xbox E3 media briefing in Los Angeles, Monday, June 10, 2013. (AP Photo / Jae C. Hong)

Microsoft on Friday put out word that Xbox stalwart Phil Spencer is retiring, in a shakeup of leadership at the tech titan’s video game unit.

Former Instacart chief operating officer Asha Sharma will take over as head of Microsoft Gaming, with Matt Booty becoming executive vice president and chief content officer.

“As we celebrate Xbox’s 25th year, the opportunity and innovation agenda in front of us is expansive,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a message to employees.

“I am long on gaming and its role at the centre of our consumer ambition.”

Changes to the gaming team include Sarah Bond leaving her job as Xbox president “to begin a new chapter” away from Microsoft, according to the company.

The shakeup comes as cloud computing and artificial intelligence have become priorities at Microsoft, driving revenue growth but also massive spending on infrastructure to power the technology.

“When I walked through Microsoft’s doors as an intern in June of 1988, I could never have imagined the products I’d help build, the players and customers we’d serve or the extraordinary teams I’d be lucky enough to join,” Spencer said in a message to colleagues.

“It’s been an epic ride and truly the privilege of a lifetime.”

Spencer headed the Xbox unit for 12 of his 38 years at Microsoft, nearly tripling the size of the business as video games evolved from packaged software for consoles to subscription services and digital downloads on an array of devices.

Spencer also guided the Xbox team through acquisitions of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Minecraft.

Xbox boasts more than 500 million monthly users and a vast stable of game studios, along with a subscription gaming service.

“We are witnessing the reinvention of play,” Sharma said in a blog post announcing the leadership changes.

“To meet the moment, we will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters and worlds that people love.”