The influence of a single person can sometimes be crucial to a company, a fact evident with Phil Spencer at Xbox. In this vein, a significant shakeup has just occurred at Microsoft.
Xbox and more broadly Microsoft rely on talented men and women to come up with great things. And in a difficult economic context for many, it is necessary to have strong backs. This is why Microsoft has simply appointed a new personality at the head of Xbox Game Studios.
Xbox is reorganizing itself
Thus, the new head of Xbox Game Studios is none other than Alan Hartman. Alan Hartman began his career in video game development in 1995 as an executive producer at DreamWorks Interactive, contributing to games such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Goosebumps Attack of the Mutant and Trespasser. He is also credited on titles like Skullmonkeys, Close Combat III The Russian Front, Urban Assault and Age of Empires II. In 2001, he joined Digital Anvil, bought by Microsoft, where he worked on Freelancer and Brute Force. From there, he’ll just move up the ladder.
Following the dissolution of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, Hartman became studio manager, then director of Turn 10 Studios, known for the Forza Motorsport series, which needs no introduction. Since 2005, he has overseen the development of all Turn 10 titles and the ForzaTech engine. In September 2021, he was named vice president of Forza and Fable, a highly anticipated reboot of the famous Xbox franchise developed by Playground Games.
Movement at Microsoft
With over eighteen years of experience at Microsoft, Hartman has played a leading role in the development of the company’s gaming business. Recently, he was promoted to management of Xbox Game Studios, succeeding Matt Booty. Booty, in turn, was elevated to president of Game Content and Studios, where he oversees the operations of ZeniMax-affiliated studios such as Bethesda, Arkane and id Software. This arrangement seems to leave no losers.
A few weeks ago, we also learned that Sarah Bond, unrelated to the secret agent, was named president of Xbox, while Dave McCarthy took on the role of director of operations at Microsoft Gaming. This heralds considerable changes for the future of Xbox productions, potentially including new acquisitions. Microsoft’s appetite for acquisitions is indeed colossal. So we can imagine everything. The same goes for game development, with why not the return of large licenses.
What do you think of this change in the internet at Xbox?