Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has been handed an Industry Icon award at a gaming event broadcast from Algeria, where Xbox consoles aren’t even available.
Between massive drops in Xbox Series X/S sales, a wave of studio closures, price hikes, and the underperformance of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7, it’s safe to say Microsoft’s Xbox division isn’t having a good year in 2025.
This has been a trend for this generation, as Xbox trails behind Sony and Nintendo in sales, but Microsoft has attempted to flip its fortunes in various ways – from acquiring studios like Activision Blizzard, leaning hard on cross-platform releases, and driving more people toward its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
Despite these attempts though, there’s little evidence to suggest these pivots are working, especially in the arena of public perception. If anything, sentiment around Xbox has never been lower thanks to the recent Xbox Game Pass price hike.
With all this dismal baggage, you’d think this would be the worst time to celebrate the career of Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who has been part of the Xbox team since its inception in 2001. However, one particular award show has clearly not read the room.
The Grand Game Awards, which celebrates the ‘best achievements in the gaming industry across the [Middle East and North Africa] region and beyond’, handed Spencer the Industry Icon award during its broadcast on Friday, December 19.
Spencer accepted the award via a video message, and while he said he was ‘honoured’ to receive it in his speech, he claimed it ‘on behalf of the whole Xbox team over many years’.
‘Thank you to the Grand Game Awards for this honour,’ Spencer said. ‘It’s truly special to join you as you broadcast from Algeria to the world. I’m grateful to be part of your celebration of games and the people who make and play them.
‘I’m honoured to accept this Industry Icon Award. It has my name on it, but it’s really on behalf of the whole Xbox team over many years. The thousands of creators, developers, and all the teams and partners that show up every day, to serve players and empower developers.’
Spencer has been an instrumental figure at Xbox for decades, and was appointed head of Xbox in 2014. He’s overseen some notable innovations during his tenure, such as the launch of Xbox Game Pass, although giving him the accolade at this point in time is a very strange move.
It’s even more bizarre with extra context. This is the first year the Grand Game Awards has given out a Industry Icon award, so Spencer was chosen over Shigeru Miyamoto, Gabe Newell, or even someone like Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Unlike the other awards, which are voted on by a jury of media outlets, the Industry Icon recipient was selected by ‘the team’ behind the Grand Game Awards, according to creator Raouf Belahamra, although it’s unclear who exactly.
Additionally, former Microsoft executive Peter Moore served as a ‘godfather’ of this year’s ceremony, but is apparently ‘not involved in the selection or voting process’ for award winners.
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Based on Xbox’s website, you can’t actually buy Xbox Series X/S consoles in Algeria, where the ceremony is broadcast from. It’s worth noting though that the event’s jury does span outlets in regions like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, along with some Western outlets too.
Either way, the choice to honour Spencer in 2025 has struck an odd note with many players. ‘Xbox is at its lowest point since its introduction in 2001 and Phil gets this award? The blame starts from the top,’ one user on X wrote.
‘Over someone like Miyamoto. Okay man. Sure,’ another added.
‘I mean, he’s definitely iconic, and his tenure is quite notable,’ another wrote on ResetEra in response to the news. ‘Just not in a way that would be flattering.’
Microsoft is full steam ahead on its next generation console, which is rumoured for 2027. Little is known about the hardware, but it’s apparently set to be in line with a high-end PC.
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