Microsoft is shaking up Xbox’s upper management following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The company hopes that the reorganization will help prevent a repeat of Redfall’s disastrous launch.
Microsoft reorganizes Xbox management and gets a new chief of marketing
As reported by The Verge, Microsoft promoted Matt Booty to the president of game content and studios, with Sarah Bond taking over as Xbox president. Bond will lead an organization within Microsoft Gaming to oversee ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda, Arkane Studios, Id Software, and others. He is not taking over ZeniMax directly, with the company continuing to function semi-autonomously under CEO Jamie Leder.
According to a memo from Spencer, Booty will prevent a repeat of Redfall by facilitating cooperation between Microsoft and ZeniMax.
“We believe that an expanded gaming content organization — one that enables Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax’s development studios to collaborate effectively together — will empower those world-class studios to do their best work in growing our portfolio of games players love,” said Spencer.
Meanwhile, Bond will oversee Xbox hardware development, as well as strategy and planning.
“Sarah Bond will lead this team as President of Xbox — bringing together Devices, Player and creator Experiences, Platform Engineering, Strategy, Business Planning, Data and analytics and Business Development,” Spencer explained. With Bobby Kotick leaving Activision Blizzard, Bond’s promotion also means women will soon outnumber men in Microsoft Gaming’s upper management.
Additionally, Microsoft’s marketing chief, Chris Capossela, is stepping down after 32 years at the company, with Takeshi Numoto taking his place.
“Takeshi has been at the heart of our Cloud transformation,” says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “I’m thrilled for him to step into the CMO role for Microsoft and drive our vision forward.”
