All articles tagged with #matt booty
Xbox’s Matt Booty and Asha Sharma congratulated Playground Games on Forza Horizon 6’s strong early-access showing, calling it the most-played FH6 early access in series history and praising the studio’s four consecutive 90+ reviews; with the Standard Edition not yet released, Microsoft is excited for more players to join when the full Game Pass launch arrives on May 19, 2026.
At an emotional Xbox all-hands, Phil Spencer introduced incoming CEO Asha Sharma and praised his team while Sharma and Sarah Bond were honored; Sharma outlined three commitments—great games, starting with console as the reference experience, and building for the future of play—and pledged to visit every Xbox team as the company charts the next 25 years, signaling a team Xbox era.
Ed Fries, former head of Microsoft Game Studios, offers a veteran’s take on Xbox’s leadership transition to Asha Sharma and Matt Booty, saying Sharma’s lack of gaming experience isn’t a barrier if the two leaders play to each other’s strengths and keep the focus on great games. He reflects on Xbox’s history, defends maintaining a hardware strategy, and weighs in on AI’s rising role and the importance of Game Pass, while noting the ongoing growth of the global games business and the need to balance innovation with the fundamentals of creating hit franchises.
New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Matt Booty push back on AI pressure, promising no forced AI adoption and no 'derivative' or low-quality output, emphasizing AI as a tool and reaffirming a hardware- and first-party–driven strategy for Xbox while keeping options open for broader platforms.
In a Windows Central interview, Xbox EVP Matt Booty said the company won't back away from first-party development or hardware, reiterating Xbox's commitment to being a first-party publisher in partnership with its platform team. He cites ongoing work like getting games such as Gears of War running on new devices, the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, and an upcoming console potentially launching in 2027, and emphasizes that any return to a console-first strategy starts with hardware decisions.
Windows Central’s exclusive with Xbox’s new leadership reveals a 25-year plan centered on a “return to Xbox” that prioritizes the console and hardware, reinforces first‑party studios, preserves a broad portfolio from indie hits to major franchises, and carefully considers AI use and audience growth without abandoning the core Xbox community.
Xbox's Matt Booty discussed the highlights of the recent Xbox Games Showcase, which featured major announcements from Xbox's studios and third-party developers, including the reveal of "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6." Booty emphasized Xbox's commitment to delivering a steady stream of games and the impact of recent acquisitions like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. He also touched on the future of the "Fallout" franchise, the success of Xbox Game Pass, and the strategic decisions behind studio closures and game releases.
Alan Hartman, the former studio head of Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios, has been promoted to head of Xbox Game Studios, overseeing 15 different development studios including 343 Industries, Obsidian Entertainment, and more. This comes after the former head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, was promoted to president of Game Content and Studios, overseeing both Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks / ZeniMax Media. Hartman's new role will involve managing the various studios under the Xbox Game Studios publishing label and fostering collaboration between teams.
Xbox has announced leadership changes, with Sarah Bond being promoted to Xbox president, overseeing hardware and software platforms. Matt Booty has been promoted to president of game content studios, Takeshi Numoto has become Microsoft's CMO, and Yusuf Mehdi will take over Numoto's role as consumer CMO. Marketing boss Chris Capossela is stepping down after 32 years at the company. These changes will result in more women than men in leadership positions on Microsoft's gaming team once Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick leaves his role.
Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty has confirmed that Arkane Austin, the developer of Redfall, will not be shut down despite the game's critical failure. Booty acknowledged that there was a failure on his part to properly set expectations for the game, but noted that Redfall is still getting "good play" through Xbox Game Pass. He also stated that the studio is hard at work on updates and continued content for the game.
Head of Xbox Games Studios, Matt Booty, has admitted that Microsoft "could have done a better job of onboarding" Arkane when developing Redfall. Booty believes that the team suffered from "tunnel vision" and that Microsoft could have done more to integrate the studio into its first-party lineup. However, Booty also stated that the blame for Redfall's lackluster reception ultimately falls on himself and ZeniMax head James Leder. Arkane has since released a major update to the game, which has made improvements to almost every aspect.
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty admits that the Redfall team should have better prepared to be part of first-party after Xbox's acquisition of ZeniMax. Booty takes responsibility for not setting expectations appropriately and urges players not to blame individual developers for the game's middling reviews and performance. He also acknowledges that the team got "tunnel vision" around the game's release. Booty discusses why games are taking longer to make nowadays and Xbox's first-party strategy.
Xbox Game Studios chief, Matt Booty, has stated that the industry and fans need to understand that most big games now take around 4-6 years to develop. This is due to the increase in game budgets and the number of people working on individual titles. Booty's comments come in light of criticism faced by Xbox for the slow cadence of major releases in recent years. The upcoming release of Starfield marks an almost decade-long gap between games from Bethesda Game Studios.
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty says the company wants to be more "disciplined" about managing expectations for its upcoming games. Booty explains that Xbox's slow release slate is due to many of its acquisitions having unfinished projects and DLC obligations, but assures fans that there is plenty more to come. Booty acknowledges that Xbox's big promises have gotten them in a little bit of trouble, but he feels optimistic about the company's ability to deliver in the coming years. Xbox may be saving some of its showings for "other events during the year, other beats that we want to hit," and wants to be more disciplined about how it manages expectations.