What Phil Spencer's promotion means for Xbox and gaming at Microsoft

[Windows Central]

Xbox head Phil Spencer recently got promoted to Microsoft's executive leadership team, in a big show of confidence for gaming. But what does it mean?
For years, Xbox hasn't really been viewed as central to Microsoft's core operations, sitting underneath Windows in terms of corporate hierarchy. Commentators and speculators have called on Microsoft to spin off Xbox into its own entity or sell it on to another tech company, for some reason. But despite all the highs and lows, Xbox has soldiered on, leading us to today.
Now, owing to the efforts of Spencer and his team, gaming has been elevated to the senior leadership table at Microsoft, sitting alongside Azure, Office, and Windows, rather than beneath them. Xbox head Phil Spencer will answer directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, cutting out Windows chief Terry Myerson as the middleman. And that's quite important.
But what does it all mean for Microsoft, and more important for us as gamers?

Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...