XBOX Strengthens Executive Team With Two New Hires

As XBOX continues to undergo a transformative 2026, new leadership hires continue to demonstrate a dedicated passion for revitalizing the brand. A new report states that Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet have both been added to Microsoft’s gaming executive team.

The new hires are said to be part of Asha Sharma’s continued mission to build better products and make more focused decisions for XBOX’s business. Ball is joining the team as the Chief Strategy Officer. He’s a popular industry analyst who puts out the annual State of Video Gaming report. According to a report by Christopher Dring of The Game Business, Ball’s first task will be to strengthen the division’s console side. He previously stated in an interview with the same Outlet that he was worried about the state of the console industry due to rising memory costs.

“We see a lot about the headlines on DRAM. We see a lot of deserved scrutiny among the gamers as to why they’re being so negatively impacted by trillion-dollar companies pursuing AI. I actually think that the impacts have been a lot more severe already. If you think that things are bad now, and we’re just seeing the quasi-responses… if this continues, it could get much worse,” he said in February of this year.

Scott Van Vliet’s New Role at XBOX

On the other side of the new hires, Scott Van Vliet is the new Chief Technology Officer of XBOX. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft. Asha Sharma also previously held top executive positions in Microsoft’s AI division. He will be tasked with first improving how the company builds products so that teams can move more efficiently and deliver stronger results. In addition to these changes, Chris Schnakenberg is promoted to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development.

Asha Sharma commented on these changes in an email to staff, saying, “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution. As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.”

XBOX’s next major showcase will be held on Sunday, June 7. The Showcase will be immediately followed by a Gears of War: E-Day Direct. Learn more about that presentation here.

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For more XBOX, see what has been said in recent months about the brand considering changing its approach to exclusives. Insider Gaming will continue to monitor the story and report any updates as more information becomes available.