James Shields

We’ll bring the game announcements. You bring the snacks? 🍿 Join us for Xbox Partner Preview on March 26 for updates from STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, new reveals, and more: xbx.lv/4lO0BTV | #PartnerPreview

@haiyan @aka_Scratch @tomwarren Oh man, I had no idea. Congrats on the new gig, Haiyan. No doubt you’ll do phenomenal. You’ll be missed at Xbox!

Since @tomwarren screenshotted my LinkedIn post and some folks are conspiracy theorying it (wtf). Posting here my farewell love letter to Microsoft. Today was my last day on campus, and after spending 13 years in this place, choosing to leave this company and these amazing people was the hardest decision of my life🥹❤️. And at the same time, I always said I want to go on many adventures in my life… moving from Australia to Canada, to Italy, to SF, to London… then Redmond with Microsoft. Now on to a new journey— After more than a decade at Microsoft, I’ve decided to step into the next phase of my career, which will take me on a new adventure beyond Microsoft. Reflecting back, I still remember stepping through the doors at 30 Great Pulteney Street on March 27, 2013, into a newly formed Xbox game studio in London. I felt at once excitement, trepidation, and optimism. As I step into this next chapter, I find many of those same emotions returning as I look ahead. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey at Microsoft. To the many colleagues, collaborators, and supporters who opened your office doors, and who spent time sharing your thoughts and encouragement - I am deeply grateful. At Microsoft, I felt I had truly found my people: a place where I could belong. I hope I carry forward some small piece of the culture we built together: one of curiosity, acceptance, and inclusion. Thank you all for walking this journey with me, from my early days in Xbox Game Studios, to Microsoft Research, to serving as Gaming Chief of Staff, and more recently working together on this AI revolution. I’ve loved the adventure. My next step will be at Netflix, where I’ll be joining the team to help empower their journey in gaming. I’ll also continue pursuing my passion for advancing AI for social impact through my nonprofit, Thriven Foundation (lnkd.in/gyqmp3UE) Cheers to all of you and to the journeys ahead!

@neonepiphany Excellent work!

Hopefully you know what this was about now

Hey Xbox Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead Insiders, have you had a chance to play with any of the new features today? How are you liking them? And please file bugs if you're seeing any issues.

Love to see these new dashboard features getting added. The new color options feel fresh 🔥 Shoutout to the teams that worked on this!

Xbox at GDC 🔥 25th anniversary limited edition swag drop! The first 2,500 attendees who swing by our Xbox Lobby Lounge today (Moscone South), will receive this commemorative D-pad (fits any Xbox Elite controller but looks cool anywhere). 🎮 Stop by to get one before they’re gone! #GDC2026

@asha_shar 🔥🔥🔥

Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console. Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!

@XLR8__ @UberNick @Halo @HCS @HaloSupport Oh, nice! Congrats! 🫡

Serving this franchise and its people has been the greatest honor of my life To the Spartans yet to come, I stand ready I have officially joined @Halo Studios

From the new Overwatch characters, Emre is really fun to play. The 3 round burst weapon and double grenade combo just speaks to the Halo player in me.

Final Fantasy IX: A true fantasy setting JRPG with lovable characters that got me into the genre and opened the door to me playing FFX, FFVII, FFVIII, and beyond. Halo 3: While Halo 2 showed me the potential of online multiplayer, Halo 3 improved upon it and got me hooked on competitive PVP. IMO, few online multiplayer games come close to what Halo 3 did for the industry. Pokemon Yellow: My 9 year old self got lucky and stumbled upon this before the hype. Trading, battling, glitches, and rumors of in-game secrets made this a cultural phenomenon in my school’s playground.

Top 3 greatest games ever? Why? GO👇

@woggerman1974 You too, mate! Can’t wait to catch up at the next event. It’s been a while. I’m looking forward to the future too 🔥

@shieldsjames hope you are doing well sir. Crazy day. Xbox has been a huge part of my life, as you know. looking forward and staying a strong member of this amazing community.

Today I begin my role as CEO of @Xbox. Here are my three commitments: 1/ GREAT games 2/ Return of @Xbox 3/ Future of play blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/02/2…

@asha_shar @Xbox 👀

@Xbox Should bring the blade dashboard?

Welcome to Team Xbox, we're excited about what we'll build together! 🎮

@asha_shar @Xbox Welcome to Team Xbox!

Blessed team comp #GoodKitty

Venture through Bikini Bottom in true SquarePants fashion 🧽🫧 We’re celebrating The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants and SpongeBob SquarePants: Tides of the Titan with these all-new custom controllers from Xbox Design Lab: xbx.lv/4pkYRSU

Open Matchmaking confirmed. At launch, Open Matchmaking with minimal skill consideration will be the default matchmaking for #BlackOps7 MP. Our team is committed to providing players with a more varied experience, and the Beta was a valuable opportunity to test this approach.

@Xbox @tokyo_game_show Ichiran. Great choice.

One last meal before we head home, it's been fun @tokyo_game_show!