Lori Wright, Corporate Vice President at Xbox, is leaving the company, having led third-party relations for Xbox overseeing global partnerships and business development efforts. Haiyan Zhang, who served as General Manager of Gaming AI at Xbox, is leaving Microsoft after 13 years to join Netflix's gaming division. Both executives announced their departures this week via LinkedIn.
The pair's exits represent the latest chapter in Microsoft's gaming leadership upheaval. Microsoft's head of gaming, Phil Spencer, left the software maker following a 38-year tenure, as the company's Xbox business faces increased challenges. Sarah Bond, president and operating chief of the Xbox unit, also left Microsoft. Matt Booty, head of Microsoft's gaming studios, now reports to new CEO Asha Sharma as executive vice president and chief content officer, with the pair expected to work together to push platform innovation and content forward.
Wright is leaving after "an incredible decade" at Microsoft and Xbox, and though she thanked colleagues, partners, and friends who "shaped [her] journey", she did not expand on her next steps, only writing: "As for what comes next, I'm hoping for a lot of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and discovering what lies in the space in between".
Zhang's departure to Netflix represents a strategic move by the streaming giant, which has been building out its gaming ambitions. In a public statement, Zhang reflected on her time at the company, saying, "After more than a decade at Microsoft, I've decided to step into the next phase of my career, which will take me on a new adventure beyond Microsoft." She added, "My next step will be at Netflix, where I'll be joining the team to help empower their journey in gaming."
The departures highlight the broader instability affecting Xbox's upper echelon. Revenue from video games at Microsoft declined about 10% in the December quarter from a year earlier, a steeper drop than the company expected, while total revenue grew nearly 17%. This underperformance has forced Microsoft to recalibrate its gaming strategy under new leadership, a process that inevitably involves turnover among executives aligned with the previous regime.
Microsoft has positioned the leadership changes as necessary evolution rather than reactive damage control. The changes put a longtime Xbox leader on the way out and elevated an executive who comes from Microsoft's AI organisation, tightening the link between gaming leadership and the company's AI push. Whether this strategic pivot will stabilise the division remains an open question for both investors and players.