The 25th annual DICE Awards will take place later this month, and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced Xbox head Phil Spencer will receive the prestigious AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award.
Giving Spencer the award would be industry renown, and Microsoft colleague Todd Howard, who was welcomed into the company through the acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios and parent company ZeniMax Media, led by Spencer. 2019. In the announcement of the award recipient. , AIAS has released a summary of Phil’s history in the gaming industry including his new role as Microsoft Gaming CEO and the many studios he’s brought him into the Xbox family.
“Phil Spencer was named CEO of Microsoft Gaming in January 2022, and has worked in the technology and entertainment sectors for more than 30 years, leading global business, creative, and engineering teams. Since joining Microsoft in 1988 as an intern, Spencer has held multiple roles at the company, including Executive Vice President, Gaming; Head of Xbox Division; Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Studios; and General Manager, Microsoft Game Studios EMEA.
During his roles at Microsoft, Spencer led the Xbox organization through numerous console launches, including Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox One S All Digital Edition, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X ; multiple acquisitions, including Mojang (Minecraft’s parent company), Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment, inXile Entertainment and ZeniMax Media (the parent company of Bethesda Softworks); and influences global entertainment franchises including Halo, Gears of War and Forza, as well as Xbox Game Studios Publishing. He has also led cross-platform gaming expansion with Xbox Network, invested in the subscription business model with Xbox Game Pass, and introduced Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming. Together with her team and colleagues, Spencer continues to push the boundaries of creativity, technical innovation, and fun across genres, audiences, and devices. ”
The list of achievements is long, and many have only emerged in the last few years. AIAS describes the Lifetime Achievement Award as “reserved for individuals whose achievements span multiple disciplines over a long career in the industry” and who do not necessarily have a hand in development. It’s safe to say Phil Spencer is a hugely influential force in the direction Xbox is heading this generation with a focus on powerful console hardware, a flexible ecosystem spanning Xbox, PC, Mobile, etc and popular services like Xbox Game Pass.
Meggan Scavio, President of AIAS, is quoted as saying, “Phil Spencer has demonstrated both passion and leadership throughout his career at Microsoft. He is responsible for countless impactful and important initiatives that have reverberated throughout the gaming industry. “Previous awards have been given to Minoru Arakawa, Howard Lincoln, Ken Kutaragi, Doug Lowenstein, Bing Gordon, Satoru Iwata and Genyo Takeda.
The 25th annual DICE Awards will be held on February 24 at 8 p.m. Pacific at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
