Speaking at the Code Conference underway in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella told interviewers that he has no intention of selling the company's Xbox gaming division business, according to The Verge.
"I have no intent to do anything different with Xbox than we are doing today," Nadella, who was appointed CEO in February, told interviewers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in an interview with Fox Business Network earlier this month that he would "absolutely" support Nadella if he wanted to spinoff the company's Xbox division. In response to questions about separating Bing and the Xbox division, Gates said that separating Microsoft's Xbox gaming division from gaming as a whole at Microsoft isn't necessarily an "obvious" move.
Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer revealed at a SXSW Gaming panel in March that he had "explicit conversations" with Nadella and former Xbox division head Stephen Elop about Microsoft's commitment to Xbox, saying 'they're extremely committed to Xbox." The Washington Post reported in February that two "influential Microsoft shareholders" were urging the company to cut away non-essential product lines, including the Bing search engine, Surface and the Xbox division.