New report places blame for Xbox failures on Sarah Bond amid massive leadership changes last week

Just days ago, former Xbox president Sarah Bond seemed destined to eventually take the reins of the company following Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer's eventual retirement. Now, she's basically become the face of the console's failures. A new report by The Verge's Tom Warren cites "more than a dozen current and former" employees from Microsoft claiming that Bond being passed over for new promotee Asha Sharma "felt inevitable" in recent months. Image via Xbox Last week, Xbox announced that both Spencer and Bond were gone from the company, with Sharma (a former Microsoft AI executive) taking over the former's role. And according to Warren's sources, it's Bond who wore out her welcome alongside Spencer's plans to retire, taking shape over the past year or so. Warren's sources say that Bond was the driving force behind the company's weird "This is an Xbox" ad campaign that basically talked people out of buying Xbox consoles and instead play their games on TVs, handhelds, phones, other consoles besides Xbox, and everything else in between. Warren said that this strategy "offended many Xbox employees internally" and helped to sour her perception amongst peers. Xbox's strategy to pivot away from the console was "led by Bond, under Spencer’s direction," according to Warren. And it definitely has not panned out well for the company, as hardware sales have declined. Warren also said that most "current and former Xbox employees I’ve spoken to in recent days are relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft." Now, Sharma and her AI-driven background are at the wheel of the gaming brand, and that's enough to cause even more concern within the company. The fear now inside the company is that Sharma (along with Microsoft's famously AI-bullish CEO Satya Nadella) will "force AI into everything Xbox does," and potentially lead to more layoffs at the company that's already suffered several rounds of departures. Personally, I feel like it's hard to place blame entirely on Bond for Xbox's shortcomings over the past few years. She was a part of the problem, sure, but this news coming out today, shortly following her departure from the company, feels a bit like scapegoating to me. Where Xbox goes from here, I'm not sure. It will be a difficult road to repair what's happened over the past few years, but all eyes will be on Sharma and Microsoft Gaming EVP Matt Booty in the coming months to see if the brand can make a comeback. The post New report places blame for Xbox failures on Sarah Bond amid massive leadership changes last week appeared first on Destructoid.

Feb 24, 2026 - 02:46

New report places blame for Xbox failures on Sarah Bond amid massive leadership changes last week

Just days ago, former Xbox president Sarah Bond seemed destined to eventually take the reins of the company following Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer's eventual retirement. Now, she's basically become the face of the console's failures.

A new report by The Verge's Tom Warren cites "more than a dozen current and former" employees from Microsoft claiming that Bond being passed over for new promotee Asha Sharma "felt inevitable" in recent months.

Image via Xbox Last week, Xbox announced that both Spencer and Bond were gone from the company, with Sharma (a former Microsoft AI executive) taking over the former's role. And according to Warren's sources, it's Bond who wore out her welcome alongside Spencer's plans to retire, taking shape over the past year or so.

Warren's sources say that Bond was the driving force behind the company's weird "This is an Xbox" ad campaign that basically talked people out of buying Xbox consoles and instead play their games on TVs, handhelds, phones, other consoles besides Xbox, and everything else in between. Warren said that this strategy "offended many Xbox employees internally" and helped to sour her perception amongst peers.

Xbox's strategy to pivot away from the console was "led by Bond, under Spencer’s direction," according to Warren. And it definitely has not panned out well for the company, as hardware sales have declined. Warren also said that most "current and former Xbox employees I’ve spoken to in recent days are relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft."

Now, Sharma and her AI-driven background are at the wheel of the gaming brand, and that's enough to cause even more concern within the company. The fear now inside the company is that Sharma (along with Microsoft's famously AI-bullish CEO Satya Nadella) will "force AI into everything Xbox does," and potentially lead to more layoffs at the company that's already suffered several rounds of departures.

Personally, I feel like it's hard to place blame entirely on Bond for Xbox's shortcomings over the past few years. She was a part of the problem, sure, but this news coming out today, shortly following her departure from the company, feels a bit like scapegoating to me.

Where Xbox goes from here, I'm not sure. It will be a difficult road to repair what's happened over the past few years, but all eyes will be on Sharma and Microsoft Gaming EVP Matt Booty in the coming months to see if the brand can make a comeback.

The post New report places blame for Xbox failures on Sarah Bond amid massive leadership changes last week appeared first on Destructoid.

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