Sarah Bond resigned as president and COO of Xbox on Friday alongside the announcement of the retirement of Xbox CEO Phil Spencer.
She had been in leadership roles at Xbox for eight years, and she served as the No. 2 exec alongside Matt Booty under Spencer. Booty is the new No. 2 under Asha Sharma, an AI exec who has been tasked with leading Xbox into the AI era.
Bond won our GamesBeat Visionary Award back in 2022. Back then, she was vice president for game creator experience and ecosystem at Microsoft.
At that time, John Riccitiello, former CEO of Electronic Arts and Unity, said in a video about Bond, “Yes, her accomplishments prove she has the intellect, the brain, and the drive. I’m here to say she also has the heart. She’s the full package.”
In her acceptance speech, Bond said, “I am just incredibly humbled and proud to accept this award.”
She added, “In life, we all have the power to imagine and dream about a better world. And I find myself doing that a lot these days, especially all that we have been and continue to go through over these past two years. But what I want to talk about today is how I believe we can move from dreaming to actually building a better world,” she said. “And the pivotal role that games and in everyone who makes games plays in making that possible. I fundamentally believe that the foundation to a better world is empathy.”
She said that in the modern world, we can have global relationships. But it’s harder to bond with people like we once did on towns and villages. Games have a unique power to bring people through the entire journey of empathy, she said.
“I think about games like Tell Me Why which allow us to virtually walk in someone else’s shoes and experience emotional insights into their point of view their perspective, in the case of Tell Me Why the perspective of a trans man know that entertainment that we consume, it just has a very profound impact on what we think and feel,” Bond said. “And games can allow us to connect across those huge divides. When we think about it, you complete a quest, escape a dungeon, build a city, you can do that with someone you may have never met, they can live on the other side of the world. And it doesn’t really matter, their gender, their culture, their ability, their language, all of that doesn’t matter in a game. And more than anything, you can just have that shared sense of accomplishment with someone. And that is what is truly required to break down barriers and create real deep human connection.”
Play is an empathy multiplayer, she said.
“If we open the tent and include everyone, if we empower everyone who wants to to be a creator, if we play together and become empathetic to each other’s humanity, if we do this, we will build a better world,” Bond said. “And I believe it will be the better world we’ve all been dreaming of.”
Here’s what she had to say in a farewell letter to her collegues at Microsoft.
Hi team
I know there’s a lot of news to take in today.
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together over the past eight-plus years. PC and cloud gaming are growing faster than ever, our next console is well underway, and together we’ve helped lay the foundation for a more open gaming platform that spans devices and reaches players around the world.
When we announced our intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2022, I committed to helping lead Xbox through what would be a critical period of change. Over the past four years, we’ve navigated that moment together and positioned the business for what comes next. We took on some of the biggest challenges this organization has ever faced and did it as one team.
With that, I’ve decided this is the right time for me to take my next step, both personally and professionally. We’re living through a transformative technological era that will shape the next generation of our industry, and I’m energized by what’s ahead. This moment also presents a unique opportunity for fresh eyes and new leadership to guide the team into its next chapter. I’ve had the privilege of spending time with Asha over the last few weeks as we’ve planned for this transition, and I’ve seen firsthand her deep commitment to our players, developers, and brand. She brings deep technology and commerce experience, along with a strong track record of building and scaling platforms that the world uses. Xbox deserves this. I’m excited to see her lead this next chapter for our team. I’ll remain on as a Special Advisor to Asha to help ensure a smooth transition and set the organization up for continued success.
I want to thank Phil for his mentorship and friendship over the years. He’s been a consistent champion of this business and the people who make it what it is, and I’ve learned a great deal from the way he leads through both opportunity and challenge. I’m grateful for his trust and support throughout my time on the team. I also want to thank Satya for his sponsorship and support throughout my time at Microsoft.
As I prepare to sign off, I’ve been reflecting on three simple questions I’ve tried to use to guide my days:
Did I bring my best?
Did I help someone else succeed?
Did I do my best work?
I hope the answer has been yes for many of you. It’s been a privilege to work alongside this team.
Always,
Sarah