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Trafotin @trafotin.com · 23/02/2026

Everyone has been talking about Phil Spencer leaving Xbox in the last couple days. What I'm more surprised by is nobody except @tomwarren.co.uk mentioning Sarah Bond, responsible for the murder of the Xbox brand alongside Phil. I remember watching her presentations during the... 1/2

Tom Warren@tomwarren.co.uk

Inside Microsoft’s big Xbox leadership shake-up. Microsoft has a new gaming CEO who wants to bring Xbox back from the brink. I've been speaking to Xbox employees about how it all went down. Gift link for emergency Notepad issue this week 👇 www.theverge.com/tech/883015/...

theverge.com

Inside Microsoft’s big Xbox leadership shake-up

Microsoft has a new gaming CEO

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Trafotin @trafotin.com · 23/02/2026

2021 Windows 11 reveal/Xbox directs and her line delivery was so robotic, she has to be one of the least genuine people on the planet. Not to mention wasting the 2021 event talking about her dad and using Apple buzzwords like "magical" and "it just works" to kiss up to Panos. 2/2

Tom Warren writes "Most of the current and former Xbox employees I’ve spoken to in recent days are relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft. I’ve heard from multiple sources that Bond has been tough to work with, and built a team structure that meant if you didn’t follow the vision or questioned it, you were out. Most have praised her ability to strike partnerships with companies and developers, though.

I wrote in December 2024 that Bond had 'staked her career reputation on the idea of Xbox being everywhere, across multiple platforms and devices.' This also involved carefully managing her image both internally and externally, making her appear to be a gamer like Phil Spencer. In reality, she wasn’t.

I understand that Bond’s strategy had been failing internally and been questioned multiple times. Bond had tried to push mobile and cloud over console, to reach potentially millions more Xbox customers, but the result has been a classic case of chasing tomorrow’s customers by neglecting today’s."

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