Craig Duncan has stepped down from his role as head of Xbox Game Studios after less than two years. He will be departing the company this week.
Duncan took over the role in 2024, following his predecessor Alan Hartman’s retirement. Prior to this, he was the head of Microsoft studio Rare – a position he had held since 2011 – during which time he oversaw Sea of Thieves and multiple Kinect games.
In the role of Xbox Game Studios boss, Duncan oversaw teams including Halo Studios, The Coalition, Turn 10, Playground Games, Rare, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, Double Fine, InXile, Undead Labs, World’s Edge and XGS Publishing.
The Game Business reports that until a replacement for Duncan is found, the studios under his control will answer to Matt Booty, who was made Xbox’s chief content officer amid a major leadership shake-up in February.
In addition to Duncan’s departure, fellow Rare alum and Xbox Game Studios’ current chief of staff Louise O’Connor is also leaving the company. “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,” Duncan wrote in an email to staff. “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.”
His email also addressed O’Connor’s departure. “Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care,” Duncan said. “I’m grateful for everything she’s brought to XGS, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her.”
Duncan’s departure comes during a time of immense change at Xbox. In February, Asha Sharma took over as head of Xbox from Phil Spencer in a move that also saw the departure of Xbox president Sarah Bond. Since then, Sharma has made changes to Xbox’s Game Pass model, scrapped the controversial “This is an Xbox” campaign, and started pointing attention to the next generation of Xbox hardware, Project Helix, which she has promised will “lead in performance” whenever it eventually emerges.
Earlier this month, it was reported Xbox has been slashing budgets and preparing to lay off a “significant” number of staff as part of Sharma’s new business “reset” for the brand.
