- Xbox’s ‘This Is An Xbox’ campaign was widely disliked, leading to Bond’s unpopularity within the company.
- Bond led Xbox’s pivot away from consoles, a strategy that failed to boost hardware sales.
- Many Xbox employees are relieved that Bond is leaving, but the blame appears disproportionately placed on the Black woman executive.
Following the massive leadership shakeup at Xbox, a new report seems to place most of the blame for the gaming company’s failures squarely on the shoulders of Sarah Bond.
Last week, the gaming world was thrown for a loop when news broke of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer’s sudden retirement, the installation of his replacement, Asha Sharma, and of Sarah Bond’s unceremonious resignation.
Bond was the last person to give a statement on the very sudden change, and now a new report from Tom Warren of The Verge, citing “more than a dozen current and former employees from Microsoft blaming Bond for Xbox’s current situation and that her being passed over to replace Spencer, “felt inevitable.”
Xbox Employees Hated The “This Is An Xbox” Campaign
According to Warren’s reporting, Bond wore out her welcome within the company and was the mastermind behind the “This Is An Xbox” ad campaign that didn’t land well with gamers, especially the Xbox faithful, and “offended many Xbox employees internally,” leading to many of her peers not rocking with her.
The report claims the initiative to pivot away from consoles was “led by Bond, under Spencer’s direction. It’s no secret that the new strategy didn’t help move Xbox Series X and S consoles, as sales for the hardware continue to decline.
Warren also reports that “current and former Xbox employees I’ve spoken to in recent days are relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft.”
Social media has been very mixed on the news, with most people side-eyeing the report as the Black woman is getting all the blame while her white male boss is being given a fond farewell.
Beanz speaking, I find this report to be very wack. Not blaming Tom Warren for doing his job in reporting, but pinning all of Xbox’s latest failures on Sarah Bond is weak.
Xbox’s shortcomings are not just on Bond; everyone was in on the strategy, and it does look like Bond was being thrown under a bus, which is why she left the company.
It’s very much coming off as the Black woman is being painted with the “difficult to work with” trope.
We do hope Xbox finds its footing under Sharma’s leadership, and that Sarah Bond lands back on her feet; she’s only guilty of trying to help Xbox flourish.
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