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The memo behind the Xbox leadership changes was an internal Microsoft Gaming message from October 26, 2023, published by The Verge. It announced Sarah Bond as President of Xbox and Matt Booty as President, Game Content and Studios, shortly after Microsoft completed its Activision Blizzard acquisition.
This was a historical reorganization memo—not a new console announcement, Game Pass update, layoff notice, or current 2026 Xbox organizational chart.
The short version
- Sarah Bond became President of Xbox, with responsibility for the platform, devices, player and creator experiences, platform engineering, strategy, business planning, data and analytics, and business development.
- Matt Booty became President, Game Content and Studios, overseeing Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax’s development organization.
- Jamie Leder remained ZeniMax’s president and CEO, but reported to Booty.
- Dave McCarthy became Chief Operations Officer, Microsoft Gaming.
- Jerret West continued as Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft Gaming.
- Ami Silverman became Microsoft’s Chief Consumer Sales Officer, with a role spanning Microsoft’s consumer businesses and gaming.
- Bobby Kotick remained Activision Blizzard CEO through the end of 2023 to support the transition.
Why the memo was issued
Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023, bringing Activision, Blizzard, and King into Microsoft Gaming. Phil Spencer’s official employee message confirming the closing is available as a Microsoft PDF.
The October 26 memo followed that closing by setting out a new leadership structure for the enlarged gaming business. Spencer presented the changes as a way to create clearer accountability, coordinate a much larger portfolio, support integration, and continue Microsoft Gaming’s multi-year effort to reach players across the devices they choose.
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The timing matters: the reorganization came 13 days after the acquisition closed. It was separate from Microsoft’s acquisition announcement, including the company’s October 13 welcome message.
Sarah Bond became President of Xbox
Bond’s promotion covered much more than Xbox console hardware. The memo grouped the following responsibilities under her leadership:
- Devices
- Player and Creator Experiences
- Platform Engineering
- Strategy
- Business Planning
- Data and Analytics
- Business Development
In practical terms, Bond’s role was centered on the Xbox platform and ecosystem: hardware, services, platform technology, user experiences, and the business functions that support them. It did not make her the sole leader of every Microsoft-owned game studio. Game content and studio leadership were assigned separately to Booty.
It is therefore more precise to describe Bond as the executive responsible for the Xbox platform organization announced in October 2023, rather than treating “head of Xbox” as an unrestricted description of every Microsoft Gaming operation or as a current 2026 title.
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Matt Booty took responsibility for game content and studios
Booty became President, Game Content and Studios. His expanded organization brought Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax’s development studios into a broader content structure.
The stated goal was closer collaboration between the two groups while preserving existing development and production processes. That distinction is important. The memo announced broader leadership coordination; it did not say that ZeniMax’s studios would immediately lose their operating identity or be folded into a single production system.
What changed for Bethesda and ZeniMax?
The memo described ZeniMax as a limited-integration entity. Jamie Leder continued as ZeniMax president and CEO, with ZeniMax’s development studios and central-services teams continuing to report to him. Leder, however, reported upward to Matt Booty.
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Some ZeniMax leaders also reported directly to their Microsoft Gaming counterparts where their responsibilities aligned. The result was a hybrid structure: ZeniMax retained operational continuity, while its top-level development organization became part of Booty’s larger Game Content and Studios remit.
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That is why “Booty took over Bethesda” is an incomplete shorthand. A more accurate description is that Booty gained responsibility for the broader game-content organization, while Leder continued to run ZeniMax within the announced limited-integration model.
The wider leadership changes
Dave McCarthy: operations
McCarthy became Chief Operations Officer, Microsoft Gaming. His responsibilities included integration and shared operational work, including areas such as ZeniMax IT and facilities.
Jerret West: marketing
West continued as Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft Gaming. The gaming marketing organization also included Bethesda’s publishing team, extending the marketing structure across the enlarged portfolio.
Ami Silverman: consumer sales
Silverman became Chief Consumer Sales Officer, Microsoft. The Consumer Sales Organization joined the Microsoft Gaming team while retaining a cross-company consumer remit. Dametra Johnson-Marletti continued focusing exclusively on gaming within that consumer-sales structure.
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Bobby Kotick: transition period
Kotick remained in his Activision Blizzard role through the end of 2023 and reported to Spencer during the transition. This was a temporary transition arrangement described in Spencer’s October 13 employee message; it was not an announcement that Kotick had joined Microsoft permanently.
What the memo did not announce
The October 26 memo did not announce:
- A new Xbox console
- A Game Pass price or policy change
- A new game-release schedule
- Studio closures
- Layoffs
- A change to Xbox’s consumer availability
- A formal succession plan naming Bond as Spencer’s replacement
Commentary connected the reorganization to particular game launches or performance issues, including Redfall, but the memo itself did not identify a specific game as the reason for the changes. Its stated focus was accountability, coordination, integration, and growth.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the structure was intended to accomplish
The announced model involved several trade-offs:
- Coordination versus autonomy: A single content leader could make collaboration between Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax easier, while the limited-integration model preserved ZeniMax’s existing operating continuity.
- Platform versus content accountability: Separating Bond’s platform remit from Booty’s content remit made ownership clearer, but required close coordination between hardware, services, and studios.
- Integration versus continuity: Cross-functional reporting lines could help Microsoft share resources and expertise without immediately replacing every existing development structure.
- Gaming specialization versus corporate scale: Silverman’s cross-company sales role indicated that gaming would use Microsoft’s wider consumer-sales infrastructure rather than operate entirely independently.
These are implications of the structure, not guarantees that Microsoft promised specific business results.
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Where to read the original memo
The original source for the memo is The Verge’s October 26, 2023 article, “Read Phil Spencer’s full Microsoft memo on the new Xbox leadership changes.” The Verge published the internal communication it obtained; it was not presented as a standalone public Microsoft press release.
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Spencer said the changes would also be discussed at a Microsoft Gaming town hall on Monday, October 30, 2023, at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
How to read the memo today
The memo is primary evidence of Microsoft Gaming’s announced structure on October 26, 2023. It should not be used by itself as evidence of Microsoft’s organizational chart in 2026. Later Xbox announcements and leadership changes may have altered those reporting lines.
Its lasting significance is narrower and clearer: it documented how Microsoft initially organized Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax after the acquisition closed, dividing platform responsibility under Bond from game-content and studio responsibility under Booty while adding new operational and commercial reporting lines.
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