I’m baffled because her job just doesn’t even exist anymore. Even comparing her to Sharma is weird. What’s crazy is we’re told that Sarah “chose” to leave Xbox. Both her and Phil’s initial memos said as much.
As part of this transition, Sarah Bond has decided to leave Microsoft to begin a new chapter. Sarah has been instrumental during a defining period for Xbox, shaping our platform strategy, expanding Game Pass and cloud gaming, supporting new hardware launches, and guiding some of the most significant moments in our history. I’m grateful for her partnership and the impact she’s had, and I wish her the very best in what comes next.
When we announced our intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2022, I committed to helping lead Xbox through what would be a critical period of change. Over the past four years, we’ve navigated that moment together and positioned the business for what comes next. We took on some of the biggest challenges this organization has ever faced and did it as one team.
With that, I’ve decided this is the right time for me to take my next step, both personally and professionally.
Like this does not sound like she was booted from the company. Maybe she was. Maybe there was a bunch of internal strife or she was passed over from a promotion or whatever because I have no idea. From what is presented it just sounds like the plan was always to build Xbox up as a business, see it through the transition, and then move on. Namely it sounds like Sarah’s choice. So what if she stayed on? Would everything still be her fault and not her new boss’s?
I think Phil and Sarah both did a great job supporting Xbox along with the entire team. The game industry has been turbulent to say the least, but Xbox has really grown over the last decade. I get more value out of being an Xbox gamer today than I did ten years ago. Hopefully now the new Xbox leadership & team can continue to grow Xbox while also addressing the concerns with community and properly marketing all the value being an Xbox gamer does bring.
I’d say like Laura Fryer said Sarah walked and honestly with what we’re seeing it might have been the better choice seeing as if she didn’t, she might still have to hold her position which we can see is taking all the blame. Her position didn’t really see her vision instead it was to assist another’s vision or manage it to the best of her ability.
One knows everything needs to be approved by the CEO, that the case in almost any business in life & be like blaming the board for Xbox One & not Don Mattrick; Like in football it’s the manager that makes calls, carry’s the can, picks the strategy & give to the team & brand confidence & just like with Chelsea’s Liam Rosenior, Sarah Bond wasn’t up to the task & made bad calls IMO
Last year just was not good enough & something needed to be done
I’m so lost in this analogy. Everything needs to be approved by the CEO…. which Sarah Bond never was? But Sarah made bad calls… that she’s not capable of approving? Sarah Bond would be like the assistant manager in this analogy.
Any move is ultimately signed off at the top, but it’s the president or Head of Dept in corp that makes the calls. I very much doubt it was Bill Gates idea to buy RARE, but no doubt, he signed the final cheque.
Fair. I’m okay with leaving people to their opinions. It’s the facts I get hung up on. Like Sarah was never in charge my guy . Sharma literally outranks her .
Like Laura said people will always latch on someone to blame for some she was DEI and even before this you had certain of the fandom spreading misinformation about her. Your point was clear and sound however some just don’t want to hear it and continuing with this will only infuriate you.
Hey please don’t insulate the reason I didn’t like Sarah was down to colour, please don’t. My point couldn’t be more clear I wanted change becasue since 2022 for me Xbox brand & console sales have been in decline & that’s bonds timeline as head of Xbox
Let’s also make it clear that a CEO will sign off on something that wasn’t their idea. Steve Ballmer didn’t come up with the $1.15 billion Three Rings Of Death warranty extension. It was Peter Moore & his team who made that call, but it was Steve Ballmer who signed off on it
Okay, I’m bad at ignoring this. So just to do this one final time:
Satya Nadella - CEO of Microsoft (Big Boss)
Phil Spencer - CEO of Microsoft Gaming (Gaming (Xbox) Boss)
After they closed ABK in late October 2023 Sarah Bond was promoted to President of Xbox, but that was a majorly reduced role compared to what the title formerly meant and continued to be under the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. She was on equal footing as Matt Booty who was put in charge of overseeing Xbox Game Studios and Zenimax (Bethesda’s studios). It’s not really clear what the responsibilities of “President of Xbox” entailed and it’s even less clear now that the role literally doesn’t exist anymore. However, we do know that she wasn’t in charge of all of Xbox like Phil was or Sharma is now. It does seem like the Xbox ecosystem experience side of things was delegated to Sarah, but not much really changed from their existing strategy. Sarah always seemed like Phil’s right hand working to achieve Xbox’s vision at the time under him. If we’re using a sports analogy then Microsoft owns the team with Satya making the big internal decisions, Phil leads it, and Sarah and Matt were his assistant managers/coaches.
Phil Spencer retired and Sarah Bond CHOSE to leave with him, and I think that makes a lot of sense. She came into Xbox to help build it up with Phil and support his vision. If Xbox does need to evolve or change or has had misgivings then Phil Spencer 2.0 wasn’t going to change that. Sarah also deserves to go somewhere where she’s needed or better yet where she can get recognition. Or whatever. She can do whatever she wants.
Sharma is now the CEO of Microsoft Gaming replacing Phil and Matt Booty was promoted to whatever title to now oversee ALL game studios under Microsoft including ABK. This is a much tighter leadership structure where Sarah’s role no longer exists further suggesting that it was only ever a placeholder during Xbox’s transition to further incorporate the aquistions into Microsoft Gaming. Sharma is in a position that Sarah never held. Sharma has all the power Phil had. Sarah never had the power either did. Sarah could have helped Phil make plans or even made decisions herself (we don’t know their internal power structure fully), but there’s literally never a point when Phil couldn’t have stopped or changed any idea Sarah had.
You bring up 2022. 2022 is a great example to drive this home actually. There’s a lot of reasons for why Xbox isn’t everyone’s favorite console right now. Again the economy and raising console prices and decreasing production, the multiplatform strategy, the margins, the tech shortages, the supply chain issues, the forever games, marketing, and the list goes one. A big one that’s pretty commonly brought up is that Xbox just grew too big in too short of a time. All those studio aquistions in 2018/2019, then Zenimax, and then in 2022 they announced buying freaking Activision Blizzard in all its entirety. This was when Microsoft Gaming came into existence.
This was announced in January 2022 meaning it had been behind the scenes for longer, and the proceeding approval process ended up sucking the life out of Xbox. Literally. Look at Phil during those interviews. And not just Phil, Microsoft began pushing the idea that Xbox COULDN’T COMPETE without ABK to get the deal passed and that became the social consensus. Bethesda and Xbox Game Studios suddenly didn’t matter nor did their growing revenue and popular Series Consoles. Phil himself after the fact admitted that he and Xbox underestimated the approval process (because it was very unorthodox compared to historical similar aquistions) and didn’t properly focus on Xbox in 2022. There was a major games drought, poor console production, bad marketing, and even worse Microsoft was out there acting like it was do or die with ABK. That doesn’t fall on Sarah Bond. You can kinda say she’s responsible on the same way everyone at Xbox was, but even then like there’s nothing within her responsibilities as Xbox President (which she wasn’t even promoted to back then) which could’ve had her singlehandedly make any of those decisions. Matt Booty had more influence over at least the game releases side of things. However, both Sarah and Matt were on equal footing with a large senior leadership team. After the deal passed in October 2023 (but I don’t think it was announced until January 2024) Sarah and Matt were promoted up in what felt like a “left and right hand of Phil Spencer” sort of way. However there was never a point in which either of them were the actual leaders of Xbox because that role had long since (at least since January 2022) evolved into “CEO of Microsoft Gaming” which is the current role that Sharma occupies.
To make it as abundantly clear as possible this is the hierarchy given at the end of the announcement for Microsoft Gaming:
By 2024 this would’ve been the same but more pyramid like with Sarah and Matt directly under Phil and then everyone else under them. Maybe. They never really officially announced all the leadership restructuring following ABK closing. We only really learned from them referring to each other in their new roles & the verge (I think it was the verge) leaking an internal memo. And it’s changed yet again as again Matt Booty was promoted in charge of all game content creation and studios and what not, and after Sarah chose to leave her position ceased to exist.
I’m not trying to change whatever opinion you have on Sarah, and I myself think it’s best for her and Xbox that she chose to move on. However, she’s no more the root of all evil than Phil Spencer is our lord and savior. And even if she were and he was, Phil Spencer was always the one in charge leading Xbox and choosing it’s direction and strategy. Sarah only ever supported his vision. That’s all she could do because she wasn’t in charge. It’s not just “signing off”. Phil Spencer wasn’t Steve Jobs/Satya Nadella anymore than Sharma is now. They would’ve had these discussions and it would’ve been Phil’s responsibility to monitor the situation and his choice to either support or veto the campaign. Even if it somehow went entirely under his noise and was entirely on Sarah then it’d still have been Phil’s role and responsibility to lead the gaming division. He would have still needed to know what’s going on and to make sure Xbox is on the right track. That is to say if nothing is Phil’s fault and it’s all on Sarah, then he’s still responsible because he was always the leader. Not just some guy writing Xbox checks whatever else.
I didn’t insinuate anything and have no idea where you’re coming from. My reply was to Titan and not you. You have your opinions and have versed them clearly which is why I didn’t engage any further. Hope that clears the air.
I would simply say Gamepass was Phil idea buying most of the studios that makes Gamepass what it is was more to with Phil. I would see more from Phil on his trips to Japan meeting studios than one ever saw from Sarah.
If Sarah was so wonderful I’m sure Microsoft would have kept her in post with a deal she couldn’t refuse. I think she jumped becasue she knew she wasn’t going to keep her current job at Xbox, but who knows….
but with reference from what I was saying to Titan. My issue with people in their jobs has nothing to do with one’s colour or religion, just how good they are at their job.
Sorry I went over the top, but I my issues with Sarah was do with how Xbox consoles & the brand were doing & nothing else. Last year was simply not good enough in my book & change was badly needed
No worries. I never said you said anything about color; the DEI reference was not to you, but to what some haters were saying on X. When the multiplatform thing happened there was a real push to say it was her that was responsible there was even Timdog and some other guys insinuating some very disgusting things.
Also, I read your take on the subject and on that matter, we will have to agree to disagree. I see things more like Titan and many others here. If my take came out the wrong way, then I do apologize.
I’m fine with people having their own views & outlooks. I support Chelsea & share a season ticket with my Uncle, we both disagree on how the Club is run
I love Xbox & want the best for Xbox. Just think, Sarah wasn’t up to the task, that’s all
. Sharma literally outranks her 
