Microsoft Loses Corporate VP and Xbox General Manager of Gaming AI

It’s been a wild month of shake-ups at Microsoft, with Xbox figurehead Phil Spencer announcing his retirement and Xbox president Sarah Bond leaving. However, two more senior members have since departed – Lori Wright, who served as corporate VP of partnerships, business development, and marketing, and Haiyan Zhang, Xbox’s general manager of gaming AI.

Wright, who has spent a decade at the company, hasn’t outlined what’s to come, simply “hoping for a lot of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and discovering what lies in the space in between.” The Verge’s Tom Warren reported that she was a “direct report” to Bond, and one has to wonder how much of her departure has to do with the latter.

However, Zhang, another long-time executive, confirmed that she will be joining Netflix to “empower their journey in gaming.” In response to Warren tweeting about her departure, she responded, “It’s just a new job, dude. Apparently, people do that.” She also responded, “Sometimes it’s just all about ME and nobody else,” when another user mentioned “rats leaving a ship.”

With Asha Sharma taking over as Microsoft Gaming CEO, there have been some sizable moves made by Xbox. “This is an Xbox,” a marketing campaign that Bond seemingly spearheaded, has quietly disappeared. The company also revealed the next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Helix. Little is officially known about its performance or other features (unofficially, it’s a different story), but Sharma confirmed that it would play Xbox and PC games. Alpha dev kits will also begin shipping next year.

There’s no word yet on a release date, but reports claim that the company is aiming for a 2027 launch if its Windows integration goes well. In the meantime, Microsoft is bringing its Gaming Copilot to Xbox Series X/S this year and Xbox Mode to Windows 11 in April.

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