Xbox Game Studios head and chief of staff step down as ‘Xbox reset’ looms

Xbox Games Studios head Craig Duncan has stepped down after just over a year-and-a-half in the role, reports The Game Business.

Duncan led Sea of Thieves developer Rare for nearly 13 years before being promoted to head of Xbox Game Studios in 2024, which put the rest of Microsoft’s studios under his stewardship, including Double Fine, Halo Studios, inXile, Obsidian, Playground Games, and The Coalition.

Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor has also resigned, according to the publication. O’Connor also hails from Rare, which she joined all the way back in 1999 as an animator. O’Connor was promoted to Xbox Game Studios chief of staff in August last year.

The news comes as Xbox’s new leaders, Asha Sharma and Matt Booty—who took over after Phil Spencer retired earlier this year—begin to implement an ominous-sounding “Xbox reset.”

In an open letter last week, Sharma and Booty said that Xbox’s studio acquisitions have left it “over extended,” and Bloomberg reported that “significant” layoffs are being planned. Word on the street is that award-winning studio Compulsion Games is on the chopping block, and Bloomberg reports that Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and others are also at risk.

I have reached out to Microsoft for comment on the reported departures.