#269 | Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond LEAVE Xbox - What's Next?! episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 1, 2026 · 3H 43M

#269 | Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond LEAVE Xbox - What's Next?!

from Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast · host Last Stand Media & Studio71

The winds of change are blowing through Xbox! Two of their three leaders that have guided the entire Series generation in Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out. Staying is Matt Booty, who was also promoted (!), and joining as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming is Asha Sharma. Despite Sarah Bond seemingly being groomed as Phil's successor, Asha steps in with a background that touts her as President of Microsoft's CoreAI alongside time spent at Instacart and Meta as an executive leader. Similarly to when Phil inherited the mess from Don Mattrick, Asha has her work cut out for her. Joining the Dukes is none other than the man to blame for all this nonsense, Brad Ellis. Together, the trio comb through the initial Microsoft blog post that broke the news. From there, we dig into an article by Tom Warren of The Verge who lays the blame of many of Xbox's shortcomings at the feet of Sarah Bond. Like many in our audience asked, we discuss if this is a hit piece, the truth, or somewhere in between. Lastly, Asha Sharma and Matt Booty sat down to chat with Jez Corden about the new lay of the land for Xbox. There are some answers and many questionable non-answers that lead to conversations of their own. Together, let's unpack what is a seismic change for Xbox as the brand continues to feel like it's hanging on by a thread. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/DEFININGDUKE and use code DEFININGDUKE and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro
0:06:36 - What We’re Playing0:35:06  Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond depart from Xbox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The winds of change are blowing through Xbox! Two of their three leaders that have guided the entire Series generation in Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out. Staying is Matt Booty, who was also promoted (!), and joining as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming is Asha Sharma. Despite Sarah Bond seemingly being groomed as Phil's successor, Asha steps in with a background that touts her as President of Microsoft's CoreAI alongside time spent at Instacart and Meta as an executive leader. Similarly to when Phil inherited the mess from Don Mattrick, Asha has her work cut out for her. Joining the Dukes is none other than the man to blame for all this nonsense, Brad Ellis. Together, the trio comb through the initial Microsoft blog post that broke the news. From there, we dig into an article by Tom Warren of The Verge who lays the blame of many of Xbox's shortcomings at the feet of Sarah Bond. Like many in our audience asked, we discuss if this is a hit piece, the truth, or somewhere in between. Lastly, Asha Sharma and Matt Booty sat down to chat with Jez Corden about the new lay of the land for Xbox. There are some answers and many questionable non-answers that lead to conversations of their own. Together, let's unpack what is a seismic change for Xbox as the brand continues to feel like it's hanging on by a thread. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/DEFININGDUKE and use code DEFININGDUKE and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro
0:06:36 - What We’re Playing0:35:06  Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond depart from Xbox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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#269 | Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond LEAVE Xbox - What's Next?!

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This episode is 3 hours and 43 minutes long.

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This episode was published on March 1, 2026.

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The winds of change are blowing through Xbox! Two of their three leaders that have guided the entire Series generation in Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out. Staying is Matt Booty, who was also promoted (!), and joining as the new CEO of Microsoft...

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