Craig Duncan is stepping down as head of Xbox Game Studios, according to a new report by The Game Business. He held the role for less than two years and previously led Sea of Thieves maker Rare for over a decade. The move comes as teams inside Xbox brace for the latest round of mass layoffs and potential studio closures following new CEO Asha Sharma’s announcement of a “reset” last week.
Duncan was in charge of overseeing a sprawling network of game studios which included everything from Halo Studios and The Coalition to Double Fine and Undead Labs. The industry veteran was responsible not only for helping get major blockbusters like the upcoming Fable shipped, but also navigating the company’s evolving strategy around exclusives and multiplatform releases. Xbox Game Studios will now report up to chief content officer Matt Booty.
According to The Game Business, Duncan wrote in an email to staff: “When I stepped into the role of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games. Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business. I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company.”
Xbox has recently signaled plans to invest more resources in its biggest blockbusters while winding down the lest profitable parts of its portfolio. “We are the fortunate stewards of industry-defining franchises that have enormous potential and player demand, but we have not adequately funded them to compete and win,” Sharma told staff last week. “At the same time, as we saw this past weekend at Showcase, a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success. We need to reassess the balance between these and our investment priorities for the next 5 years.”
Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor is reportedly also stepping down. She was previously an executive producer at Rare until its long-in-development fantasy game Everwild was canceled last year in the company’s last round of sweeping cuts.
Xbox did not respond to a request for comment.