Phil Spencer (born January 12, 1968) is an American business leader who was the chief executive officer of Microsoft Gaming from 2022 to 2026. He began his career at Microsoft as an intern in 1988 and worked in different areas of the company, including helping create Microsoft's first CD-ROM-based games. He joined the Xbox team in 2001. In February 2026, Spencer announced he would retire from Microsoft, and Asha Sharma took over his role.

Career

Spencer began working at Microsoft in 1988 as an intern and held several technical roles. He helped create Microsoft's first CD-ROM-based products, such as Encarta. He also managed the development of Microsoft Money and oversaw consumer productivity tools like Microsoft Works and Microsoft Picture It! Early in his career, he was known among colleagues as a fan of video games, often playing titles like Ultima Online at work.

When the Xbox was launched in 2001, Spencer joined the Xbox team. He became the general manager of Microsoft Game Studios EMEA, working with European developers and studios like Lionhead Studios and Rare until 2008. He then became the general manager of Microsoft Studios and later the corporate vice president of the studio. Spencer participated in Microsoft's E3 conferences from 2010 until 2021.

In late March 2014, Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, announced in a company email that Spencer would lead teams responsible for Xbox, Xbox Live, Groove Music, Movies & TV, and Microsoft Studios as part of the Windows and Devices division.

In September 2017, Spencer was promoted to the Senior Leadership Team and became the Executive Vice President of Gaming, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella.

In 2018, Spencer gave the keynote speech at the DICE Summit and spoke at the Game Awards.

In January 2022, Spencer was named CEO of Microsoft Gaming, following Microsoft's announcement to acquire Activision Blizzard. After taking leadership of Xbox and the Gaming division, Spencer supported cross-platform gaming and focused on improving the Xbox platform. He reintroduced backward compatibility, purchased Mojang and Bethesda, expanded support for Minecraft, launched Xbox Game Pass, introduced the Xbox Adaptive Controller, increased attention to PC gaming, ported some Microsoft games to other platforms like the Nintendo Switch, launched xCloud, and grew the number of first-party development studios.

Spencer received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards in February 2022 and the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at the New York Game Awards in January 2023.

On February 20, 2026, Microsoft announced Spencer's retirement after 38 years with the company. Industry leaders, including Doug Bowser, Peter Moore, and Reggie Fils-Aimé, honored his career. Sarah Bond, President of Xbox, resigned following the announcement. In a message to employees, Spencer stated he had shared with Satya Nadella his intention to step back and begin a new chapter in his life. However, some sources suggested his departure was not planned. Asha Sharma, an AI executive at Microsoft, was named Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming to replace Spencer.

Personal life

Spencer went to Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree in technical and scientific communication from the University of Washington. Spencer lives in the Seattle area with his wife and two daughters. He serves on the boards of the First Tee of Greater Seattle and the Entertainment Software Association.