Microsoft has dispelled rumours of Xbox chief Phil Spencer retiring in the wake of widespread layoffs at the company. Spencer, who has led Xbox since 2014 and now serves as Microsoft Gaming CEO, will not be retiring “anytime soon”, the company said in a statement after the latest round of layoffs affected several Xbox studios and saw multiple projects cancelled.
Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Not Retiring
Rumours of the Xbox chief retiring surfaced following a tipster’s claim on Wednesday. Call of Duty channel @TheGhostOfHope said on X that Spencer would be retiring as Microsoft Gaming CEO after the launch of the next-generation Xbox, with Xbox president Sarah Bond taking over.
In a statement shared with The Verge, Microsoft rejected the claim outright. “Phil is not retiring anytime soon,” Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, told the publication. Microsoft communications chief, Frank Shaw, denied the rumour on X, as well, calling the claims a fabrication.
Spencer, an industry icon who has been the face of Xbox for over a decade, joined the Xbox unit in 2001 after several roles at Microsoft. He was appointed as the head of Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox Music, Xbox Video and Microsoft Studios in 2014 and promoted to Microsoft Gaming CEO in 2022.
Microsoft and Xbox Layoffs
The question of Spencer’s retirement came up after Microsoft announced Wednesday it was laying off four percent of its workforce — over 9,000 employees. The latest round of retrenchment hit the company’s gaming division hard, with layoffs reported at several first-party studios, including King, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Rare, Halo Studios, Turn10 Studios and Zenimax Online Studios.
The Xbox parent also cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot and shut down its developer, The Initiative. Other cancelled projects include Rare’s action-adventure title Everwild and Zenimax Online’s unannounced MMO. Xbox will also wind down several unannounced projects across its portfolio.
Confirming the layoffs at the gaming division, Spencer, in a memo to employees, said the decision would ensure Xbox’s continued success in the future.
“I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger,” Spencer said in the internal memo. “The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities.”
