Xbox leadership gets a shake-up in 2026 — current CFO Tim Stuart transitions to COO of ZeniMax Media

The year isn't quite over, but there's a small shake-up coming to the Xbox division's leadership next year.

Sources tell Windows Central that Tim Stuart, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Microsoft Gaming, will be stepping into a new role as chief operating officer (COO) of ZeniMax Media, the publisher responsible for Bethesda Softworks-published titles such as DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout.

Replacing Stuart as overall CFO of Microsoft Gaming is Xavier Pokorzynsk, who currently works as corporate vice president of Microsoft Gaming. These changes are expected to be effective starting in January 2026.

This news comes after a strange year for Xbox and Microsoft Gaming as a whole. The company launched numerous critically-acclaimed games, several of which topped the sales charts in the U.S, including Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.

At the same time, the company has also seen continued mass layoffs, with multiple games being cancelled and numerous developers being cut.

Earlier this year, a report from Bloomberg revealed that the Xbox division is being asked to hit a 30% "accountability" margin by Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, a number that is well in excess of the gaming industry's standard.

October also saw a number of changes rolled out to the company's Xbox Game Pass subscription service, with some new features being added alongside an eye-watering 50% price hike at the top tier.

Microsoft has also raised the prices on Xbox consoles in the U.S. twice this year, a move that does notably coincide with increasing production costs and uncertainty caused by the U.S. Trump administration's tariffs on many countries where components are sourced.

As a result, an Xbox Series X that cost $500 back in 2020 will now go for $650 at retailers.

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