There's sort of this underlying assumption that Phil is the one making all the decisions around Xbox. I don't really think that's the case. It seems more likely Nadella is the one laying out a vision and Phil is the one tasked with doing the management work to bring those ideas to life. If that's the case, it's not obvious anyone else could have done a better job.
Exactly this. Thing is most people don't even think Microsoft when they think about Xbox. It's always Xbox this, Phil that, etc. They have no idea how Microsoft's enterprise software empire works and how laser focused Nadella is on incorporating everything into the Microsoft ecosystem and getting everything turned into a subscription. Microsoft's business model as a company, for the entirety of their history, has been enterprise software first and everything else after.
The only reason Microsoft even entered the console business to begin with was the perceived threat of Sony in the late 90s/early 2000s when their PC business was becoming established and the PS2 had an iron grip on the living room. They have been pushing people further into Microsoft's platform since the very beginning, and were the first of the platform holders to start charging its userbase a subscription when they debuted Xbox Live.
Maybe it's just been so long people forget, or maybe the majority of people making noise over Xbox are just younger and have no recollection of history. Or maybe I'm the meme "old man yells at Microsoft Cloud".
Anyway, thank you rm082e for thinking critically at all.
This is exactly what I think. Phil's simply following the party line from Nadella. He had the chance to be somewhat autonomous and it hasn't worked out. Now Nadella is commanding Xbox.
Either that, or MS is getting VERY agressive to ensure earnings continue upwards to offset AI investments.
In all of this, does Sony/Steam provide a better gaming alternative if you care about employee health? Is there a good option?
There is middle ground. Nadella was ruling with an iron fist when he first took over in 2014 when Phil Spencer replaced Don Mattrick. Nadella was firmly controlling every part of Microsoft's business at the beginning, to set things up with the vision he and the board saw for the company. Phil Spencer was tasked with salvaging the Xbone disaster. I wouldn't say it went well, but it certainly went as well as it could have given the complete dumpster fire he inherited (years of dicking around with Kinect, migration to digital, and then the media backfire just as Sony as regaining territory). This is why Phil is so upset about losing the "most important generation" where gamers built their digital libraries (which he is correct about).
Xbox didn't have a chance - and for anyone reading this, don't respond with brain-dead takes like "he should have made Halo and Gears good" when those dev teams and decisions were long made before he became in charge. Halo 4 was a huge disappointment and it was released a couple years prior, 343 was basically done with MCC and that was rushed out the door too early (like much of Microsoft's software) to generate some revenue and try to sell ANY Xbones.
All of that was set in stone, it was not going to change no matter who was put in charge at Xbox. They didn't even have their own budget and legitimacy in Microsoft's eyes at the time. Microsoft restructured their business segments a few years later (I forget when) and Game Pass was Nadella's baby that he tasked Phil with making succeed and was given budget to do so. I would say it has been successful, even if I'm not much of a fan of the service. Between getting on board with Game Pass and Xbox as a service, and finally given its own budget and some autonomy (around 2018), we probably started seeing the impact of decisions Phil made for Xbox first party around 2023 or 2024.
The Zenimax and Activision-Blizzard purchases were definitely part of Phil's push to acquire content they clearly weren't able to product on their own, and for all the bitching and moaning about Xbox having no games, take a look at the output post-acquisition. Microsoft is a legitimate force in publishing as the largest publisher in the industry. I would call that successful as well.
The underlying assumption that the head of Xbox paid to be the head of Xbox is the one making all the decisions? I wonder why? Nadella doesn't have time to waste managing an inconsequential part of their portfolio like Xbox. We've seen the email exchanges and he was utterly uninterested while Phil was an active participant and obviously running the show. Nadella just approves or disapproves. He isn't running Xbox. It's Phil.
Since around 2018 (maybe 2019) this is true. He also managed to make Game Pass into a successful service and made Microsoft into the largest publisher in the industry through acquisitions. Microsoft is playing the long game, not petty console warring bullshit. I think Phil did truly care about Xbox hardware and console platform, and is trying to salvage what he can. But ultimately Nadella's opinion is the one that really counts the only way to satisfy him is what you see now. That is where he and the board want Xbox to be, and that's what's happening now whether Phil is going to get on board with it or not.
Why would Phil Spencer be gone? He will be extremely successful in heading MS Gaming towards an environment dedicated to the continuous development of high-performing IPa, most of which are GaaS, from some of the largest acquisitions on the sector. And how will he do that? Layoffs on parts of the branch that do NOT matter.
MS Gaming IS a gaming behemoth, but not on the direction any longtime fan should reasonably want. There's no reason to separate them from main Microsoft anymore, which is quite possibly the most despicable corporation out there.
100% agree with everything you said. For a gamer and a fan of Xbox historically, you should be disgusted. As a Microsoft shareholder or businessperson interested in long term, you'd be very happy with what is being executed right now.
I don't think Nadella knows of anyone who would do a better job AND fit inside the corporate culture of Microsoft so he just sticks with Phil.
Nadella hasn't been aggressive with replacing anyone at the executive level, they all leave on their own when they get burned out or find better opportunities.
That's because there is no better person for the job right now. That could change over the next few years, and it's clear new leadership is being established within Xbox post-ATVI acquisition (they picked up a ton of talent and industry wisdom). Phil did what he needed to and somehow succeeded according to Microsoft's standards. I don't like the results myself and have skipped out on Xbox since the 360 days except for one PC Game Pass stint around 2018 which left me underwhelmed. As a hardware platform, Phil failed to correct course, but as Microsoft Game Studios, he has done as good a job as anyone that has to work for Microsoft could.
tl;dr Microsoft is poison and it's bad for gaming. Everybody thinking _____ would have done a better job is fooling themselves. Microsoft will continue to Microsoft.
