Xbox Hires Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet for Leadership

Xbox has appointed industry analyst Matthew Ball as its new Chief Strategy Officer and former Azure AI infrastructure lead Scott Van Vliet as Chief Technology Officer [1]. The hires, announced Wednesday by CEO Asha Sharma, mark the latest phase of a major leadership restructuring intended to stabilize the division’s hardware business and improve execution [3].

Ball, a venture capitalist and author known for his annual state of gaming reports, has been advising the company since February [3]. His primary mandate is to strengthen the console segment, which has struggled with year-over-year declines despite Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023 [1]. In his recent industry analysis, Ball warned that the traditional AAA blockbuster market is stagnating as consumers shift attention toward mobile apps and short-form video platforms [4].

The leadership team is under pressure to reverse these trends as Xbox approaches its 25th anniversary later this year [3]. Since taking over for former gaming head Phil Spencer in February, Sharma has implemented several strategic shifts, including price cuts for the Game Pass subscription service and the removal of the Copilot AI assistant from the Xbox ecosystem [1]. She has also begun teasing "Project Helix," a planned PC-console hybrid device [1].

Van Vliet’s appointment as CTO signals a pivot toward cloud and AI-driven infrastructure, leveraging his background in Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI division [2]. Alongside these executive changes, Chris Schnakenberg has been promoted to corporate vice president of partnerships and business development [3]. These moves follow a turbulent period for the company, which included significant layoffs in July 2025 and the closure of multiple game studios [1].

In a memo to staff, Sharma stated that the company has a clear strategy but requires better execution to turn its current assets into stronger fundamentals [3]. The company plans to present a detailed roadmap for the remainder of 2026 and beyond during a showcase event scheduled for next month [3].

Whether this new leadership team can successfully pivot Xbox away from its current hardware slump remains the central question for the division's future. The upcoming showcase will serve as the first public test of whether these structural changes can translate into a viable path for the brand's next generation of gaming.