XBOX Reportedly Hires Matthew Ball as New CSO & Scott Van Vliet Named New CTO

It seems Asha Sharma is on spree to rebuild how XBOX operates behind the scenes. Following recent internal shakeups and leadership changes, the company has now brought in two major names to strengthen strategy and technology across the platform.

In an internal memo seen by The Game Business, Asha Sharma noted, the latest leadership 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 reportedly hires a new Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

As part of the latest leadership change, XBOX is bringing in Matthew Ball as its new Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) (via Thurrott). If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Ball is widely known across the gaming industry for his yearly State of Video Gaming reports and broader analysis around the future of gaming, hardware, and digital ecosystems.

As the report mentions, Ball’s first major responsibility revolves around strengthening XBOX’s console business. Not to mention, that side of the market is currently facing pressure from rising component costs, especially around storage and memory. Earlier this year, Ball himself admitted he was “pretty frightened” about the current direction of the console market. As you can see below, Ball has updated his X account’s bio as “CSO @XBOX” and also announced the joining by a post that shows the new XBOX bootup animation.

The report further mentions that XBOX has also hired Scott Van Vliet as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Besides new hires, XBOX has reportedly also promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President for Partnerships and Business Development.

Given how aggressively Asha Sharma is reshaping XBOX lately, it feels increasingly clear the company is preparing for a very different phase of gaming ahead. Recently, the company also announced a new “XBOX Player Voice” feedback hub, in which fans have demanded to bring back exclusives and more.