By Tom Warren , a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft is

Rare boss Craig Duncan promoted to Xbox Game Studios chief

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2024-10-14 19:00:05

By Tom Warren , a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.

Microsoft is promoting Rare studio lead Craig Duncan to the head of Xbox Game Studios, following the retirement of Alan Hartman. The change of leadership comes less than a year after Hartman took on the head of Xbox Game Studios role after Matt Booty was promoted to an expanded president of game content and studios position.

In an email to Xbox employees today, seen by The Verge, Booty shared that Hartman is retiring at the end of November after more than 30 years at Microsoft. Hartman originally started at Microsoft inside the CD-ROM group in 1988, before working on Age of Empires, Brute Force, and studio head of Digital Anvil. He also helped found Turn 10, the home of Forza Motorsport.

Rare studio chief Craig Duncan will take over the role of head of Xbox Game Studios shortly, with Joe Neate and Jim Horth taking over as co-leads of Rare as the team continues to work on Sea of Thieves and the upcoming Everwild action-adventure game. “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,” says Booty.