Microsoft has announced a new head of Xbox Game Studios. Rare studio head Craig Duncan will be leaving his position to take over as Head of Xbox Game Studios.
The move comes as current head of Xbox Game Studios, Alan Hartman, has announced his retirement at the end of November. He held his position as studios head since October 2023.
Duncan comes in after leading Rare since February 2011 where he oversaw the development of Sea of Thieves along with other titles like Battletoads, Killer Instinct, and various Kinect titles at the studio. Prior to Rare, Duncan was a director at Codemasters and studio head at Midway Games.
In a memo to staff via GamesIndustry.biz, president of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty thanked Hartman for his years of dedication and service to the industry and Xbox. He then touched on what Duncan will focus on moving forward.
“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 said.
Taking over for Duncan at Rare will be Joe Neate and Jim Horth. Neate has been the executive producer of Sea of Thieves while Horth has spent over 20 years at Rare.
Currently, Rare is still regularly developing and releasing updates for Sea of Thieves. The studio is also working on the upcoming action-adventure game Everwild.
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