Microsoft has promoted Rare Studio Lead Craig Duncan to the head of Xbox Game Studios. This is following the announcement that current head Alan Hartman is to retire.
This leadership change comes less than a year after Hartman accepted the role himself after the former head Matt Booty was promoted to President of Game Content and Studios.
Craig Duncan has led Rare Studios for 14 years, overseeing memorable launches and eras in his time there such as the Studio’s Kinect titles. Prior to this, he worked in many digital leadership roles at Sumo Digital, Midway and Codemasters. He is also Vice President of the charity SpecialEffect.
While Craig Duncan will be taking over the role shortly, Jim Horth and Joe Neate will take over as co-leads of Rare. The Rare team will continue to work on Everwild, an action-adventure game, and continue to provide updates on Sea of Thieves.
Matt Booty issued a statement saying “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 investing in new IP.
Craig will report to me and join the Game Content and Studios leadership team, working closely with Alan during the transition. The existing XGS leadership team Alan established will remain intact and report to Craig.”
This change brings the horizon of a brand new era in the Xbox Studios with Hartman’s retirement, which will come at the end of November after more than 30 years at the company. He originally started his role in the CD-ROM group in 1988 before working on titles like Age of Empires and Brute Force and as studio head of Digital Anvil. Most notably, he helped found Turn 10, home of Forza Motorsport.
Words by Maisie Hancox
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