Alan Hartman is departing Xbox Game Studios and will be replaced by Craig Duncan who has led Rare Studio for close to 14 years. Hartman previously led and formed Turn 10—the studio behind the Forza franchise in 2005—before ascending to Xbox Game Studios.
Craig Duncan
Duncan joined Rare during the Kinect titles era and oversaw the launch of Sea of Thieves, the studio’s foremost foray into live service. The game has attracted more than 40 million players since its launch in 2018. Hartman announced his retirement through a LinkedIn post.
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“In 1988, with a BFA in Visual Design diploma in hand, I joined Microsoft as a contractor in the CD-ROM group with the grand title of ‘Multimedia Specialist’”, Hartman wrote. “36 years later I’m retiring with the title of Corporate Vice President and Head of Xbox Game Studios. The titles aren’t the story though, it’s what happened between those two titles that matters.”
“Being a Studio Head in Gaming is one of the most rewarding and challenging roles in entertainment. I believe it is the best job at Microsoft. I always knew we had immense talent across XGS, but I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy spending time with our studio leaders and their teams. It has been an honor to represent XGS, and I truly mean this – a pleasure getting to spend time with all of our studios.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished together and I am excited by what we have in the pipe! Avowed, Clockwork Revolution, Fable, Gears of War E-Day, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, South of Midnight, and many more announced and still to be announced games. I have so much anticipation and confidence in what all of our studios are creating and I am excited by what these teams will accomplish with Craig Duncan as the new Head of Xbox Game Studios.”
The big shoe Duncan will fill at Xbox Game Studios
Duncan will try to replicate the success he has achieved with Rare as the new head of Xbox Game Studios. However, it is not going to be a small feat. From being just the head of one studio, Duncan will now oversee the affairs of several other studios under the Xbox umbrella. They include:
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- Compulsion Games
- Double Fine
- Halo Studios
- InXile
- Ninja Theory
- Obsidian
- Playground Games
- Rare
- The Coalition
- The Initiative
- Turn 10
- Undead Labs
- World’s Edge and more
Duncan will report to Matt Booty, the president of Game Content and Studios. In an email sent to staff, Booty highlighted the milestones that Duncan has achieved over the years including his incredible work to advance accessibility.
“Alan’s career has been marked by innovation, dedication, and an unwavering passion for gaming,” Booty said in the staff email. “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.”
Duncan will be replaced in Rare by Joe Neate and Jim Horth who have been part of the company for 11 and 20 years respectively.
