An important management change is taking place within Xbox Game Studios. Craig Duncan, the head of the company, announced that he will leave his 20-month mission with dignity this week.

Chief of Staff Louise O’Connor, who worked at Xbox Game Studios along with Duncan, was another person who left the company. Following these departures, Xbox Strategy President Matt Booty will assume responsibility for the department until a new manager is found.

Management Change and Studio Structure

Craig Duncan has been with Microsoft since 2011 and spent most of his career leading the Rare studio. Over the last 20 months, Duncan has managed the activities of many valuable development studios such as Halo Studios, The Coalition, Turn 10, Playground Games, Obsidian, Ninja Theory and Double Fine.

In his statements regarding his resignation, Duncan stated that he aimed to serve the studios and teams. Craig DuncanHe stated that they launched many successful games during their time and contributed to the commercial success of the company.

Louise O’Connor stands out as a name that has been part of Rare since 1999. O’Connor, who remained at the company until the cancellation of the Everwild project in 2025, was appointed Chief of Staff at Xbox Game Studios as of September 2025.

Other Developments on Xbox

Duncan emphasized that O’Connor is a creative and solid partner and wished him success in his future career. The company management continues to search for new candidates for vacant positions.

This management change is not the only development on the Xbox front. A new “buy now, pay later” option seen in the Xbox background indicates that this feature may be offered to users soon.

In addition, new reports are emerging that Microsoft is wasting hundreds of dollars per Xbox Series X/S console sold. These changes in the company’s hardware strategy and the gaming world are followed closely in the industry. What do you think about this sudden change of management within Xbox Game Studios?