Rare Boss Craig Duncan Appointed New Head For Xbox Game Studios

The leadership structure at Xbox has evolved over the years and some of the most monumental people at the platform are departing. Back in July last year, what some might deem the face for Xbox – especially during the height of the Xbox 360 – Larry Hyrb announced he is exiting from Microsoft after working at the firm for more than two decades. However, more changes would come of this.

Additionally, there was also more changes that followed Major Nelson. In April this year, Kareem Choudhry also shared his departure as well – one of the leading hardware architects for the platform especially in backwards compatibility & cloud. As Xbox Game Studios continued to expand, Matt Booty was enlisted in a new role for Xbox. As his replacement, Turn 10 Studios head Alan Hartman would be the new boss for Xbox first-party.

From gamesindustry.biz, Hartman is officially stepping down from his position. As per a staff email from Matt Booty, it is revealed that Rare studio head Craig Duncan will be filling those shoes with Hartman now out of the picture. “Alan’s career has been marked by innovation, dedication, and an unwavering passion for gaming,” he wrote.

Starting as a contractor at Microsoft in the fledgling CD-ROM group in 1988, Alan has worked on a variety of projects in his time here, from Age of Empires, to Brute Force as the studio head of Digital Anvil, to the founding of Turn 10. Over the years, Alan, Turn 10 and Playground Games delivered 13 Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games, building Forza into one of the top racing franchises in the world and regularly pushing the capabilities of our hardware.

His work to advance accessibility in gaming has set a benchmark for the industry and under his leadership, Xbox Game Studios has shipped multiple critically acclaimed titles this year and set the stage for highly anticipated games like Avowed, South of Midnight, Fable, and more.

Hartman also chimes in on the decision with a post on LinkedIn. “I was able to take a lifelong love of playing games and make it a career. From Age of Empires to Forza Motorsport I’ve been lucky to put my fingerprints across many games through the decades – leading the Forza franchise through all 13 releases and building two fantastic studios along the way. 

“Being a Studio Head in Gaming is one of the most rewarding and challenging roles in entertainment. I believe it is the best job at Microsoft. I always knew we had immense talent across XGS, but I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy spending time with our studio leaders and their teams. It has been an honor to represent XGS, and I truly mean this – a pleasure getting to spend time with all of our studios.

“I am proud of what we have accomplished together and I am excited by what we have in the pipe! Avowed, Clockwork Revolution, Fable, Gears of War E-Day, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, South of Midnight, and many more announced and still to be announced games. I have so much anticipation and confidence in what all of our studios are creating and I am excited by what these teams will accomplish with Craig Duncan as the new Head of Xbox Game Studios.”

“In his new role, Craig will continue to focus on helping our studios deliver high-quality, differentiated game experiences that can grow into successful franchises and reach more players by investing in new IP,” Booty added. Rectify Gaming did an interview with Craig Duncan which you can ready by heading here.

Are you excited with Duncan the new head for Xbox Game Studios?

Source: gamesindustry.biz