Rare’s Craig Duncan appointed as new head of Xbox Game Studios following Alan Hartman’s retirement

Nearly a year ago, Microsoft appointed Alan Hartman as the leader of Xbox Game Studios, entrusting him with the oversight of nearly all first-party development divisions, including the recently acquired studios. Before Hartman’s appointment, Matt Booty held this role but was subsequently elevated to the position of president of game content and studios. Today, Microsoft has initiated another transition in leadership at Xbox Game Studios.

In a message distributed to Xbox personnel today (as reported by The Verge), Matt Booty announced that Alan Hartman will be retiring from Microsoft after an impressive 30-year career. The transition is expected to take place in November, with Craig Duncan, who is currently the studio head at Rare, stepping into the position of leading Xbox Game Studios.

Below is the complete email shared by Matt Booty with Xbox staff:

Today, I wish to announce some changes in our leadership team. After over three decades of dedicated service at Microsoft, Alan Hartman will retire at the end of November.

Throughout his extensive career, Alan has exemplified innovation, commitment, and a deep-seated passion for gaming. He began his journey at Microsoft as a contractor in the early CD-ROM group in 1988 and has been involved in diverse projects, from Age of Empires and Brute Force as the head of Digital Anvil, to establishing Turn 10 Studios. Under his guidance, Turn 10 and Playground Games produced 13 notable titles in the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon series, cementing Forza as a leader in the racing genre while consistently maximizing our hardware’s potential. Alan’s initiatives to enhance game accessibility have set new industry standards, and during his tenure, Xbox Game Studios successfully launched several critically acclaimed titles this year, paving the way for eagerly awaited releases such as Avowed, South of Midnight, and Fable, among others.

Our search for a successor to steer the intricate landscape of our business and cultivate the creativity vital for our games’ success involved collaboration with HR to assess both internal and external candidates, ensuring we met the unique requirements of the XGS role.

I am excited to announce that Craig Duncan will take on the role of Head of Xbox Game Studios. Craig holds extensive experience from his time with Codemasters, Midway Games, and Sumo Digital before joining Xbox in 2011 to lead Rare. Under his leadership, Rare has flourished, creating new intellectual properties, most notably the dynamic Sea of Thieves, which has attracted a vibrant community of over 40 million players worldwide.

In his upcoming role, Craig will remain dedicated to assisting our studios in crafting high-quality, unique gaming experiences that can evolve into successful franchises, while also expanding our investments in new intellectual properties. Craig will report directly to me and will be a part of the Game Content and Studios leadership team, working closely with Alan during this transition period. The existing leadership team that Alan put in place at XGS will continue on and report to Craig.

Additionally, I am pleased to announce that Joe Neate and Jim Horth will take over as co-leads of Rare. Their leadership has been pivotal in Rare’s advancement, and I am confident they will propel the studio and its games to even greater achievements.

Please join me in celebrating Alan’s retirement and in welcoming Craig, Joe, and Jim to their new positions.

As mentioned in the email, to fill the leadership gap at Rare, Joe Neate and Jim Horth will jointly lead the studio, managing both current and upcoming game projects. Rare is currently focused on providing ongoing support for its live-service title, Sea of Thieves, while also working on another project called Everwild, though details about this game remain scarce since its announcement in 2019.

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