Matt Booty, who just got promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Xbox, has signaled in a memo that the recent upheaval at Xbox may not lead to any layoffs at the company’s collection of nearly 40 game development studios.
He said in his memo, “To be clear, there are no organizational changes underway for our studios.”
The new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, comes from a background of AI, prompting fears by some that further investments into the technology at Microsoft’s studios could result in layoffs. That isn’t happening, at least not for now, but the Xbox Game Studios family has faced challenging times of late. Microsoft made deep cuts to the Xbox teams in July 2025, leading to many layoffs and canceled games, along with the closure of Perfect Dark reboot studio The Initiative.
Industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto believes Microsoft will “run through their Xbox business with a bulldozer this year” in the wake of Sharma taking over as the new CEO. “For the same of Xbox employees, I hope I am wrong,” he said.
Xbox co-founder Seamus Blackley, meanwhile, predicted the end of Xbox and that Sharma will serve a role more akin to a “palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night.”
Now, Microsoft has nearly 40 studios under its umbrella, spanning Xbox and subsidiaries like Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King. In his statement to staff, Booty said he looks forward to working with Sharma and that there are “good reasons to believe in what’s ahead.”
“This organization and its franchises have navigated change for decades, and our strength comes from teams who know how to adapt and keep delivering. That confidence is grounded in a strong pipeline of established franchises, new bets we believe in, and clear player demand for what we are building,” he said.
In his new role, Booty will focus on supporting the teams currently in place and “creating the conditions for them to do their best work,” he said.
Booty was previously the president for game content and studios at Xbox. He is coming up in 16th anniversary at Microsoft, having started there back in April 2010. Prior to that, Booty was a game designer and programmer at Midway Games, then was promoted to studio head of Midway’s Chicago studio. He rose all the way up to become the president and CEO of Midway.
In other Xbox news, it was reported that outgoing Xbox president Sarah Bond championed the polarizing “This Is An Xbox” marketing campaign, and that she was challenging to work for. Some said they were relieved to learn she was leaving.
Spencer said Bond was “instrumental” for Xbox during her time with the company, praising her for “shaping our platform strategy, expanding Game Pass and cloud gaming, supporting new hardware launches, and guiding some of the most significant moments in our history.” He said he wished Bond “the very best in what comes next.”
Spencer said he will stay on in an advisory role through the summer to help with the handoff to Sharma, but it remains to be seen what’s next for Bond, and for Spencer long term. Bond currently serves on the board of Tyson Foods and just recently received a huge stock award.
