Microsoft has appointed Craig Duncan as the new head of Xbox Game Studios

Microsoft has appointed Craig Duncan as the new head of Xbox Game Studios after Alan Hartman stepped down from the role.

Duncan has been a director at Rare since 2011, overseeing the launch of several Kinect games and the successful Sea of ​​Thieves for Xbox One and PC. He also previously worked at Codemasters, Sumo Digital and Midway.

In his new role, he will oversee projects from Microsoft’s internal studios, including Turn 10, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, The Initiative, Halo Studios and Rare itself, among others.

With Duncan’s role changing, changes will also occur at Rare itself. Joe Neate and Jim Hort will be the new directors; Neate helmed Sea of ​​Thieves as executive producer, while Hort spent two decades at the British company and most recently served as studio director.

Hartman, for his part, was named head of Xbox Game Studios last year, after seventeen years as head of the Turn 10 studio and two years as Microsoft’s corporate vice president overseeing the Forza and Fable franchises.

Matt Booty, president of video game content and studios at Xbox, said in an internal email that “Alan (Hartman)’s career has been defined by innovation, dedication and an unwavering passion for video games.”

“Starting as a contractor at Microsoft in the CD-ROM group in 1988, Alan worked on a variety of projects, from Age of Empires to Brute Force as studio director at Digital Anvil, to founding Turn 10.”

As for Duncan, he added that “in his new role, Craig will continue to help our studios launch a variety of high-quality gaming experiences that can grow into successful franchises and attract more players through investment in new IP.”

Meanwhile, Rare continues to work on Everwild, a game that was announced for release in 2024 but currently does not have a release date.