Between big releases like Starfield and acquiring Activision-Blizzard-King, it has been a big year for Microsoft and Xbox. Matt Booty and Sarah Bond, two of the most recognizable figures under the leadership of Xbox, have received promotions. Bond will go from the mouthful of a role as corporate vice president, game creator experience, and ecosystem to her new position as the president of Xbox. Booty will see an expansion in his role as head of Microsoft Studios to the president of game content and studios.
While we see some people rise in the ranks, one exit has taken place. After 32 years at the company, CMO Chris Capossela is exiting.
Xbox Leadership Sees Promotion for Sarah Bond and Matt Booty
The news was reported by The Verge, which acquired an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. The shifts see the former overseer of Microsoft Studios have an expansion that leads him to have greater oversight, particularly for Zenimax and Bethesda, which had the dud of Redfall earlier this year. Meanwhile, Bond will be more focused on hardware and software for the company.
Xbox will have one more major change to its leadership hierarchy by next year. Bobby Kotick, the head of Activision-Blizzard, will be out at the start of the new year. This will leave behind the plethora of accusations against him and hopefully more of a positive place for Activision and Blizzard. When he is out, more women than men will be running Xbox, as it will be seven women and six men.
It has been a year of changes for the leadership at Xbox. Recently, the head of publishing at Bethesda and a face fans have recognized for years, Pete Hines, retired. Another known personality for fans and people in the industry was the director of programming, Larry Hryb, who left in the summer of this year.
The promotions will prepare the company to move forward after its biggest acquisition. Starting in 2024, the company plans to release one major first-party game per quarter. If it can achieve its goal, it can ease criticism of its lack of big first-party releases. PlayStation and Nintendo have been winning consumers over by doing exactly this, releasing consistently big titles. PlayStation just released Spider-Man 2, and Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. Wonder in the same year it launched The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
