As part of a recent top level management shift, Phil Spencer was crowned as the head of Microsoft’s Xbox division. A few months back when there was endless speculation about Steve Ballmer’s successor, it was rumored multiple times that the new CEO could potentially sell off the Xbox division. When Satya Nadella got the job, he initially said that Microsoft must focus on mobile and cloud. The fact that he left Xbox out of that discussion added more fuel to the fire, though Nadella later did acknowledge the importance of the company’s gaming arm.
In an interview with Edge Magazine, Spencer confidently says that Xbox will continue to remain a part of Microsoft, adding that the division will play a major part in the company’s future strategy. “Xbox is maybe the most relevant brand that Microsoft has with consumers today,” Spencer said. This should hopefully quash rumors for now that Microsoft is looking to dump its Xbox division.
Interestingly, Phil Spencer happens to be the first senior Microsoft executive to directly talk about sale rumors. Spencer has also promised in the interview that additional Kinect titles will be released later this year. Moreover, he revealed that more exclusive titles will be launched for the Xbox One soon.