Nothing About The Big Xbox Shakeup Makes Sense

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, I have so many more questions than answers Nothing About The Big Xbox Shakeup Makes Sense I have so many more questions than answers Xbox By Ethan Gach Published | Comments ( 18 ) | 𝕏 Copied!

Microsoft / Kotaku When big news happens theres an inevitable rush to put it in context and explain it. One approach is to take the news at face value and begin rationalizing it. (shocking, we know)

Another approach is to assume theres some hidden logic at work and unearth whatever that is.

The Details

Weve seen both of these when it comes to Xboxs big leadership shakeup and neither offers a completely satisfying answer to the basic question everyones been asking themselves a version of since Friday afternoon: what the hell? Hes been at Microsoft for 38 years.

But for it to be just dropped on a Friday afternoon via a series of memos and weird media exclusives? Odd way to put a pin in the career of one of gamings longest-serving and most visible executives.

Why This Matters

Not even an Official Xbox Podcast episode to break the news and offer Spencer the chance to it in a more personal way with the millions of the fandom who have been following his vision for Xbox and gaming for over a decade now. A report from The Verge explains some of this weirdness. The announcement was originally supposed to happen on Monday February 23 instead, but reporting from IGN forced Microsoft to move up its timeline.

Gaming fans have strong opinions about moves like this, and for good reason.

Key Takeaways

• Most employees learned about the move from socials first so.
• Spencer has reportedly been planning to retire for almost a year now.
• Microsoft just happened to choose the end of February to pull the rip cord.
• Microsoft head of comms Frank Shaw shut down rumors last July that Spencer was retiring anytime soon, calling them made-up.

The Bottom Line

Microsoft head of comms Frank Shaw shut down rumors last July that Spencer was retiring anytime soon, calling them made-up. A celebration cut short All the stranger considering Spencer will technically still be hanging around in an advisory role through the summer to help with the transition as new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma takes the reigns.

Thoughts? Drop them below.