I think it's a lot simpler than that.
He hasn't been fired because he's trying to do what Satya asked.
In an ideal world (for ms) series x would've thrived, gamepass would be subbed by everyone on the platform and money would ve rolling in.
In reality games are being released unfinished or just dog shite. Phil said great games don't sell consoles, but I think we've seen with that bad games can kill sales.
Series X was too expensive to make, and not really any better than playstation 5 despite this.
I don't think that can be pinned on Phil.
I don't think gamepass drying up can be attributed to Phil.
I think you can attribute the gamepass seal of quality to him as pretty sure he's forced some shit out unfinished, but what other choice did he have at this point.
It's more likely other people will get fired, like booty and the guy that was in charge of the hardware design.
When you look at the e-mail that have leaked, you can tell that Phil Spencer is the biggest Xbox fanboy. He doesn't want to put Starfield on PS5. That isn't and wasn't his plan.
He planned the Bethesda and ABK deals in order to change the narrative, but what Microsoft has realized is that they ran out of time. Xbox Series sales are abysmal. Maybe if they were able to get COD exclusive right away that could have been changed, but that's not the case.
Phil has failed most of his objectives, but he hasn't been fired.
His bigger problem is the lack of GamePass subscribers as it relates to Nadella, who I repeat doesn't care about console sales, he just wants revenue and profit, he doesn't care how they do it.
Phil has now told Nadella that Xbox is dead, but he'll still get GamePass and Xbox cloud and mobile going. That's why he hasn't been fired.
I tried to explain to people before that Xbox wants to be on mobile, which is why Sarah Bond came out against Apple. They want to leverage a gaming and their other apps to have a Windows Store on Android and iOS. That's REAL money, but not if half their revenue is going to Apple. If Apple succeeds in charging for off market sales, Google will do the same.
The only thing Nadella said in terms of Phil's failures are that with ABK, he needs to stand on his own legs moving forward. THAT is why Microsoft suddenly is going to make games multiplatform. That's why they did layoffs right away.
Xbox no longer has the support of the parent company and it has to survive on its own. And Xbox console hardware is like a gangrene leg... you have to amputate or risk dying.
Sarah Bond is going to be responsible for Xbox on iOS and Android, as well as streaming to devices like TVs, computers, and tablets. They'll keep Xbox alive for as long as they can, but only with the smallest amount of money going towards it. Limited production, direct to consumer sales, no exclusives.