Asha Sharma's "reset" of the Xbox division continues today with the departure of two key roles at Xbox Game Studios: head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O'Connor. Both were previously Rare employees: Duncan was Studio Head there between February 2011 and November 2024, when he replaced Alan Hartman at the head of Xbox Game Studios; O'Connor was at Rare for even longer, from May 1999 to August 2025, when she became Chief of Staff at XGS after the cancellation of Rare's Everwild.
The Game Business shared an email message that Duncan sent to fellow staff members:
When I stepped into the role of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games. Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business. I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company.
Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care. I’m grateful for everything she’s brought to XGS, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her.
No specific reasons were provided for the departures, though given everything that's happening at Xbox, it's easy to picture that the new leadership felt the need for some changes in those roles. As a reminder, Microsoft is reportedly evaluating a spinoff of the Xbox division for a potential sale or joint venture. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella went on record to say that, after 25 years of investment, the Xbox division must finally become profitable.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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