Rare boss Craig Duncan promoted to Xbox Game Studios chief

Microsoft is promoting Rare studio lead Craig Duncan to the head of Xbox Game Studios, following the retirement of Alan Hartman. The change of leadership comes less than a year after Hartman took on the head of Xbox Game Studios role after Matt Booty was promoted to an expanded president of game content and studios position.

In an email to Xbox employees today, seen by The Verge, Booty shared that Hartman is retiring at the end of November after more than 30 years at Microsoft. Hartman originally started at Microsoft inside the CD-ROM group in 1988, before working on Age of Empires, Brute Force, and studio head of Digital Anvil. He also helped found Turn 10, the home of Forza Motorsport.

Rare studio chief Craig Duncan will take over the role of head of Xbox Game Studios shortly, with Joe Neate and Jim Horth taking over as co-leads of Rare as the team continues to work on Sea of Thieves and the upcoming Everwild action-adventure game. "In his new role, Craig will continue to focus on helping our studios deliver high-quality, differentiated game experiences that can grow into successful franchises and reach more players by investing in new IP," says Booty.

Here's the full memo from Matt Booty:

Today I am sharing news regarding leadership changes within our team. After more than 30 years at Microsoft, Alan Hartman is retiring at the end of November. Alan's career has been marked by innovation, dedication, and an unwavering passion for gaming. Starting as a contractor at Microsoft in the fledgling CD-ROM group in 1988, Alan has worked on a variety of projects in his time here, from Age of Empires, to Brute Force as the studio head of Digital Anvil, to the founding of Turn 10. Over the years, Alan, Turn 10 and Playground Games delivered 13 Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games, building Forza into one of the top racing franchises in the world and regularly pushing the capabilities of our hardware. His work to advance accessibility in gaming has set a benchmark for the industry and under his leadership, Xbox Game Studios has shipped multiple critically acclaimed titles this year and set the stage for highly anticipated games like Avowed, South of Midnight, Fable, and more. When seeking our next leader to navigate the complexities of our business and foster the creativity needed for our games to thrive, we collaborated with HR to evaluate both external and internal candidates, considering the unique demands of the XGS role.I am pleased to announce that Craig Duncan will assume the role of Head of Xbox Game Studios. Craig brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at Codemasters, Midway Games, and Sumo Digital before joining Xbox in 2011 to lead Rare. During this time, Rare has achieved sustained business success and developed new IP, most notably the ever-evolving Sea of Thieves, a cross-platform franchise with over 40 million players.In his new role, Craig will continue to focus on helping our studios deliver high-quality, differentiated game experiences that can grow into successful franchises and reach more players by investing in new IP. Craig will report to me and join the Game Content and Studios leadership team, working closely with Alan during the transition. The existing XGS leadership team Alan established will remain intact and report to Craig. I am also pleased to announce that Joe Neate and Jim Horth will take over as co-leads of Rare. Their leadership has played a crucial role in Rare's growth, and I am confident they will elevate the studio and its games to even greater heights.Please join me in congratulating Alan on his retirement and welcoming Craig, Joe, and Jim into their new roles.Matt