Sarah Bond Promoted To President of Xbox, Gamers Salute Her

Source: Kate Green/BAFTA / Getty / Sarah Bond

We are quickly seeing the aftereffects of Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Xbox is reorganizing its leadership structure, and Sara Bond is rising in the ranks. Following the $69 billion acquisition was FINALLY approved, Microsoft and Xbox have begun moving with way more confidence after walking on eggshells, hoping regulatory agencies would give them the green light.

Now that everything is officially a go, Xbox has reorganized its marketing and leadership less than two weeks after the ABK deal was given the thumbs up. Microsoft is promoting Matt Booty to president of game content and studios, and he will also oversee ZeniMax. Sarah Bond is now Xbox president and will oversee the Xbox platform and hardware work. Chris Capossela, who has been with Microsoft for 32 years, is stepping down as chief marketing officer. In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer explained broke down the reorganization, “ZeniMax will continue to operate as a limited integration entity led by Jamie Leder, President and CEO, reporting to Matt.” With Booty now overseeing Zenimax and Bethesda, the goal is to avoid another Redfall situation. Redfall was one of the first-party titles Xbox gamers were looking forward to, but when it launched, it was a broken mess, It has since been patched up and is running better. “Great games are fundamental to everything we do,” Spencer continues in the memo. “We believe that an expanded gaming content organization — one that enables Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax’s development studios to collaborate effectively together — will empower those world-class studios to do their best work in growing our portfolio of games players love.”

Sara Bond Has Been A Rising Star In Xbox Ranks

It’s been no secret how vital Sara Bond has been to Team Xbox since joining in 2017, and for her brilliant work behind the scenes, she earned a promotion. She was pivotal in getting the ABK deal done, especially with her explanation of video games and the Xbox business to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley during her appearance at the FTC v. Microsoft hearing. Bond will now take over the hardware and software platforms of Xbox. “To manage the platform of today and build the platform of tomorrow, we are bringing together the teams that will make this possible,” says Spencer. “Sarah Bond will lead this team as President of Xbox — bringing together Devices, Player & Creator Experiences, Platform Engineering, Strategy, Business Planning, Data & Analytics, and Business Development.”

News of Bond’s promotion was celebrated on X (formerly known as Twitter). It’s no secret in the video game space that Black and Brown representation in the world of gaming is still a struggle; to see a Black woman in such a high position is a massive win.

Salute to Sarah Bond. You can see more reactions in the gallery below. — Photo: Kate Green/BAFTA / Getty