- Xbox Game Studios CEO Craig Duncan and Chief of Staff Louise O’Connor are stepping down from their roles
- Their departures come amid reports of mass layoffs at Xbox
- The news also follows reports of several studio closures, including Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games and Double Fine
Xbox Game Studios CEO Craig Duncan is stepping down this week after less than two years in the role.
That’s according to The Game Business, which claims that Duncan’s chief of staff, Louise O’Connor, is also leaving the company, less than a year after joining.
Duncan accepted the role in 2024 after previous boss Alan Hartman retired, but has been part of Xbox since 2011 and was head of Microsoft’s Sea of Thieves study, Rare, for 14 years.
His role as CEO meant he oversaw many Xbox-owned studios, such as Rare, as well as Halo Studios, The Coalition, Flight Sim, Turn 10, Playground Games, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, Double Fine, InXile, Undead Labs and more.
Meanwhile, O’Connor joined Rare in 1999 as an animator on the Nintendo 64 game Conker’s Bad Fur Daybut left the study in 2025 after cancellation of Everwildbefore he became chief of staff last September.
The pair’s departure from Xbox comes after Bloomberg reported that CEO Asha Sharma is considering mass job cuts after she and content chief Matt Booty outlined a new “Xbox reset.”
The news also follows new reports that Microsoft is closing several award-winning studios, including Hellblades developer Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, creator of South of midnightand Psychonauts studio, Double Fine.
Employees at Ninja Theory, which has just announced its new game Senua at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, was reportedly told of the closing on June 15 and told The Verge that they hope to find a new buyer.
Bloomberg and Kotaku first reported the closure of Compulsion Games and Double Fine, which are in “active talks” to spin off.
Sharma has been CEO for just over 100 days, and in that time has reformed “Microsoft Gaming” back to “Xbox” and reiterated his plan to “return to Xbox” by taking the brand back to its roots.
At the Xbox Games Showcase, Sharma announced that Gears of War: E-Day will be an Xbox console exclusive, along with Clockwork Revolution.
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