Xbox's new chief content officer Matt Booty says "there are no organizational changes underway" following abrupt leadership shakeup, which seems like a businessy way of saying no one's been canned

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Xbox's new chief content officer Matt Booty says "there are no organizational changes underway" following abrupt leadership shakeup, which seems like a businessy way of saying no one's been canned News By Jordan Gerblick published 21 February 2026

You could've just said you aren't planning any layoffs right now

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Phil Spencer is out as Xbox CEO, Xbox president Sarah Bond has left unceremoniously, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty is now EVP and chief content officer, and Asha Sharma, president of Microsoft's CoreAI product, is stepping in as Xbox CEO. That is a lot to take in, and with such a fundamental shakeup to Xbox leadership, you might expect some other, uh, changes, at lower levels of staff, but Booty has assured there are "no organizational changes underway for our studios."

In Microsoft's announcement (thanks, PC Gamer), Booty played his role as an executive vice president at a huge company adequately. That is, he tipped his hat to Spencer, talked highly of Sharma, and said he's excited about Xbox's future under new leadership. Nothing you necessarily need to read if you're familiar with corporate jargon, but he did slip in one semi-candid, substantive insight into what's happening, or should I say not happening, at Xbox right now.

"My focus is on supporting the teams and leaders we have in place and creating the conditions for them to do their best work," said Booty. "To be clear, there are no organizational changes underway for our studios."

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• Elder Scrolls Online lead says Microsoft's layoffs aren't the reason the MMO is switching over to smaller updates

Again, if you're well-versed in corpospeak, you already know organizational changes typically translates to layoffs, so it seems like this is Booty and by proxy Xbox's attempt at softening an otherwise jarring and unexpected turn of events. It's good no one's been let go, of course – any time there's new leadership at a big company there are layoff concerns – but I don't expect the lower rungs at Xbox are sleeping especially soundly tonight. There's still time, unfortunately, is what I'm saying.

New Xbox CEO, a former Meta and Instacart exec brought in from Microsoft's AI division, says "we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop"

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. TOPICS Xbox Game Studios CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PC Gaming Jordan GerblickSocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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