Craig Duncan is stepping down from his position as head of Xbox Game Studios after just over a year and a half in the role. According to reports from gaming media outlets, the departure is happening this week. Duncan had led Rare, the Sea of Thieves developer, for nearly 13 years before being promoted to the top of Microsoft's gaming division in November 2024, a position that placed all Microsoft-owned studios under his oversight, including Double Fine, Halo Studios, inXile, Obsidian, Playground Games, and The Coalition.
Duncan's departure comes alongside that of Louise O'Connor, chief of staff at Xbox Game Studios, who is also leaving the company. O'Connor had been at Rare since 1999 as an animator and was promoted to chief of staff in August of last year.
The exits of both executives follow days after new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Matt Booty (now chief content officer) announced a "reset" of the Xbox division. In an open letter, both stated that studio acquisitions have left Xbox "over extended." Meanwhile, Matt Booty will temporarily take command of the studios until a replacement is found.
The restructuring comes alongside reports of potential closures: Compulsion Games (developer of South of Midnight) has been confirmed for shutdown, while Double Fine and Ninja Theory are negotiating to become independent, a process expected to result in significant layoffs even for studios that secure their freedom.
