Overview

• Kari Perez declared that Phil Spencer is not retiring anytime soon and Frank Shaw said parts of the retirement talk were fabricated
• TheGhostOfHope’s tweet sparked the retirement speculation and Insider-Gaming said it had heard similar unconfirmed reports this year
• Microsoft Gaming has cut jobs and canceled titles including Perfect Dark, Everwild and a new MMORPG codenamed Blackbird
• Phil Spencer has led the Xbox division since 2014 and became CEO of Microsoft Gaming in 2022 after expanding Xbox Game Pass and securing acquisitions like Activision Blizzard
• Talk of Spencer’s succession is tied to predictions around the next-generation Xbox launch, though Microsoft has not announced any console release details