Craig Duncan, the studio head of iconic British video game developer Rare (GoldenEye 007, Killer Instinct, et al.), is set to become the new head of Xbox Game Studios, according to a new memo that Matt Booty, president of Game Content and Studios, has shared to staff in an email. Alan Hartman, the current head of Xbox Game Studios, is leaving for what appears to be strictly retirement-related reasons, having worked at Microsoft since 1988. A photo of Hartman, including Booty’s word to staff, can be found below.
Alan’s career has been marked by innovation, dedication, and an unwavering passion for gaming. 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.
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.