Sarah Bond's Vision for Xbox Beyond Consoles

Sarah Bond aims to expand Xbox gaming beyond consoles into mobile and next-gen platforms.

### Expanding Xbox: Sarah Bond's Vision Beyond Consoles
* 🎮 Sarah Bond, a key player in Microsoft Gaming, aims to **transform the Xbox brand beyond just consoles**, seeking to **reach a broader audience**.
* 📱 Phil Spencer highlights that Xbox has traditionally sold to the **same 200 million households** and emphasizes the need for Xbox to represent **more than just a physical device**.
* 🔍 Bond's strategy includes **expanding Xbox games to mobile devices**, next-generation hardware, and potentially handheld consoles, indicating a **significant shift in focus**.
* 💼 Her previous experience at T-Mobile equips her with **valuable insights into subscriptions and customer retention**, crucial for enhancing Microsoft’s gaming services.
* 📈 With Microsoft's Game Pass boasting around **34 million subscribers**, Bond aims to attract gamers to this subscription model across various platforms, including phones and smart TVs.
* 📊 Despite a recent **2% drop in global consumer spending on mobile games**, the sector remains **over $100 billion**, presenting both challenges and opportunities for Bond.
* 🖥 Interestingly, PC gaming has emerged as the **fastest-growing segment** in 2023, complicating the landscape for Bond as she works to leverage the Activision acquisition for **mobile gaming growth**.
* 📅 Nevertheless, with the prevalence of mobile phones, Bond remains optimistic about **tapping into this vast market** and **expanding Xbox's reach**.

This is a deep dive into Sarah Bond, a relative outsider. But now in what's a massive gaming company or ARM, she's really important. What is she trying to do? Sarah Bond is trying to move the Xbox business beyond the Xbox console. Head of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, says that they've been selling consoles to the same 200 million global households, and they really want Xbox to mean more than the plastic box in your living room. Sarah Bond's mandate is to expand Xbox games into phones, into next-generation hardware. Sure. But also, you know, potentially handheld, which is something that she and her boss have sort of teased that your story is so fascinating because you go into the relationship between her and her boss, how they turned to H.R. to really ensure that they can communicate more efficiently, but also her history. T-Mobile, what is she going to bring to the table? Yeah, Sarah Bond's history from T-Mobile.

really gives Microsoft expertise that was lacking in the mobile world, in the mobile gaming world in particular. So at T-Mobile, she's someone who knows a lot about subscriptions, a lot about how to keep people coming back to a product, and also how to trim subscriptions in a way where users don't feel bloated by extra services they don't need. And Microsoft has a sort of Netflix for games service called the Game Pass that has 34 million subscribers. Probably more at this point because that data is old. And Sarah Bond is hoping to reach gamers who want sort of a subscription product using Game Pass, which will be available on phones, on PCs, on tablets, on Xbox, on smart TVs, whatever you have. Xbox hopes to be there. Cecilia, really quick. A big impetus for the Activision deal was mobile gaming, and I'm yet to see the story that what is it? It's a little challenging. So when Microsoft announced the deal with Activision Mobile was the fastest

growing segment of the games industry. Now, global consumer spending on mobile games dropped 2% in 2023. It's still, you know, an over $100 billion industry. But, you know, PC gaming is actually the fastest-growing sector of the games industry this year, according to one recent study. So, it's going to be a little challenging for Sarah to kind of make good on the Activision acquisition. And at the same time, you know, she has high hopes because so many people have mobile phones.

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Sarah Bond is working to expand the Xbox business beyond just the console, aiming to reach a wider audience.

Her mandate includes growing Xbox games on phones and next-generation hardware, with a potential focus on handheld devices.

Bond's unique background from T-Mobile and her relationship with Phil Spencer have been key in driving efficient communication and collaboration within the team.

Microsoft is gaining expertise in mobile gaming through Sarah Bond, who has a strong background in subscriptions.

The Game Pass, Microsoft's gaming subscription service, has 34 million (and likely more) subscribers, aiming to reach gamers across various devices.

The Activision deal was driven by the goal of expanding Microsoft's presence in mobile gaming.

Global consumer spending on mobile games dropped 2% in 2023, yet it remains a $100 billion industry.

PC gaming is now the fastest-growing sector of the games industry.

The challenge for Sarah in making the Activision acquisition successful is countered by the widespread use of mobile phones.