Games industry reports that Xbox Game Studios will undergo a leadership change with the departure of studio head Alan Hartman. Hartman, who previously led Forza developer Turn 10, took over the role last yearand will retire from the company at the end of November.
Taking Hartman's place will be Craig Duncan, current leader of Rare Ltd. Since being named head of the studio in 2011, Duncan has led Rare through its Kinect series of games to Killer instinct and more recently The Sea of Thieves.
In his new role, Duncan will manage Xbox's first-party teams, including The Coalition, Ninja Theory, Halo Studiosand report to President of Game Studios and Content Matt Booty.
In an email to staff, Booty said Duncan “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 intellectual properties “.
Booty also praised Hartman for his accessibility work that “has set a benchmark for the industry, transforming Forza into one of the best racing franchises in the world and regularly pushing the capabilities of our hardware.”
At Xbox, the leaders are leaving
With Duncan's move to Xbox, his role at Rare will be replaced by Joe Pulito AND Jim Horth. Both have been with the studio for at least a decade (or, in Horth's case, two): Neate is currently the executive producer of Sea of Thieves, and Horth is currently Rare's studio director.
Xbox's leadership has undergone some notable regime changes since it was acquired Activision Blizzard last year. In the immediately following period, several Leader ZeniMax they were properly integrated into the Xbox hierarchy and Activision's longtime CEO Bobby Kotic left at the end of the year.
Last April, longtime Xbox exec Kareem Choudry he left after a long tenure of 26 years. Choudry was a key figure in Project xCloud, along with the focus on backwards compatibility that defined it as a key part of the Xbox brand.