'Destiny 2' players just slid into Xbox boss Phil Spencer's fireteam like it was NBD
Who among us hasn't randomly spotted the Xbox boss playing Destiny 2 online and jumped into his fireteam uninvited?
That's what happened to one pair of Xbox players. Phil Spencer, Microsoft's "Head of Xbox," uses a widely known Gamertag, P3. Reddit user DJ_Ariando was playing Destiny 2 with a friend when they noticed Spencer was online and in the game.
I'll let you read the rest of this story straight from the source:
It's a cute, little story, isn't it?
It's also no accident. Spencer has an executive role at Microsoft, one that reports directly to CEO Satya Nadella, but he's also very much the "face" of Xbox. He's always on stage at Microsoft's annual E3 press conferences speaking directly to the console brand's legion of fans, and he's generally one of the more accessible exec types for media folks like me to chat with.
That he games publicly on Xbox Live and keeps his Destiny fireteam open is almost certainly a calculated PR play. That's not a knock, to be clear. I've spoken with Spencer a few times over the years, and I do believe his appreciation for both video games and their fans on Xbox is genuine. But it's also good press when slice-of-life stories like this get out.
In an industry that is often derided -- fairly, a lot of the time -- for a lack of transparency, it's always nice to see exec-types mixing it up with their customers. Spencer has a lot to gain by doing this -- not just fan goodwill, but firsthand consumer research as well -- but I'd guess this is also one of the more enjoyable aspects of his job: Getting to see how all the work he and his team does pays off on the other end.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
