News - Microsoft : Phil Spencer wird CEO von Microsoft Gaming

Die Übernahme von Activision Blizzard durch Microsoft bringt auch organisatorische Änderungen bei den Redmondern mit sich. Dazu gehört auch eine Beförderung von Xbox-Chef Phil Spencer.

Es steht außer Frage, dass alles rund um die Xbox massiv Fahrt aufgenommen hat, seitdem Phil Spencer das Ruder übernommen hat. Vor Spencers Zeit, vor allem rund um den Launch der Xbox One, lief wenig wirklich rund und es wurden fragwürdige Entscheidungen getroffen. Seitdem Spencer das Sagen hat, hat sich hingegen viel getan. Die Xbox Series X/S ist erfolgreich, es wurden zahlreiche Studios übernommen, Cloud Gaming wurde massiv angekurbelt und der Xbox Game Pass ist mit mittlerweile 25 Millionen Abonnenten und einem starken Portfolio eine feste Hausnummer im Gaming geworden.

Mit der gestern angekündigten Übernahme von Groß-Publisher Activision Blizzard macht das Unternehmen nun einen weiteren Riesenschritt. Damit einher geht eine neue Position für Spencer, der nun nicht mehr nur als "Xbox-Boss" daher kommt, sondern die Rolle des CEO von Microsoft Gaming übernimmt und damit quasi für alles zuständig ist, was mit PC, Xbox und Mobile Gaming zu tun hat. Auch Activision Blizzard wird nach Abschluss der Übernahme an Phil Spencer berichten.

Deutlich mehr Macht also für Spencer, der allerdings auch eine klare Vision davon zu haben scheint, wie das Gaming unter dem Microsoft-Label künftig aussehen soll. Mit einer Mail wandte sich Spencer bereits an die Mitarbeiter von Microsoft Gaming:

"Welcome back from the holidays. To start, I’d like to thank everyone for all of the hard work and dedication that have built this business and this community. Obviously, today’s agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard is incredibly exciting. In fact it’s a milestone for our company, our business and our industry. I and the entire Gaming Leadership Team are deeply enthusiastic about this opportunity. We also announced this morning that we have surpassed 25 million Game Pass subscribers across console, cloud and PC, a great achievement for all of Team Xbox.

As players and partners, we all know how talented and dedicated the teams and studios are across Activision Blizzard. The legendary games and franchises across that company have delighted millions of people for decades. Coming together, we can accelerate our mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone. We have the capability and opportunity to build simply the best, most engaging, most fun entertainment ecosystem anywhere.

Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.

We expect this acquisition to close in FY23, pending regulatory approvals. Once the acquisition is completed, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me. In the meantime, we know you will have a lot of questions. The Gaming Leadership Team and I look forward to answering as many as we can at our next Monthly Gaming Update on Jan. 26. You can submit your questions now anonymously, or post them on our Team Xbox Yammer. Please also refresh on our corporate social media guidelines.

As Satya mentioned, I am now CEO, Microsoft Gaming. This change is a reflection of the incredible work each of you are doing to create the best entertainment ecosystem anywhere. As a leadership team, we know how much exciting but difficult work we have ahead of us, so it’s crucial that we operate as a single, unified team. To that end, I’m excited to announce effective today that Jerret West, CMO of Gaming, and his marketing team will move from Chris Capossela’s organization to report directly to me. Jerret will continue to be a member of Chris’ leadership team and leverage critical parts of Microsoft’s marketing muscle including Communications, Media, and Consumer Sales.

We will have a webcast for investors and media at 6 a.m. PT to discuss the Activision Blizzard transaction and our plans as Microsoft Gaming. Please join if you can.

Phil"