Larry Hyrb 'Major Nelson' is Leaving Xbox After 20 Years - News

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Larry Hyrb, better known as Major Nelson, announced he is taking a step back and leaving Xbox after 20 years.

"After 20 incredible years, I have decided to take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career," said Hyrb. "As I take a moment and think about all we have done together, I want to thank the millions of gamers around the world who have included me as part of their lives.

"Also, thanks to Xbox team members for trusting me to have a direct dialogue with our customers. The future is bright for Xbox and as a gamer, I am excited to see the evolution."

Hyrb will be spending the rest of the summer spending time with family.

"Going [to] take some time to spend time with my family (no really!) and enjoy the Seattle Summer," he said. "As many of you know, I never really took time off....so now I will take that opportunity."

Hyrb later added, "I want you to all know that every moment I was able to interact with you the community - here on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, Mixer or at the many events I attended around the world, I cherished every single moment. Every hand shake, every time I got stopped on the streets around a convention (happened a lot), every discussion we had about games and every photo we took together. The real magic in gaming is the community who makes, plays, enjoys and celebrates video games TOGETHER.

"Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, Mobile - I don't care where or how you play - we are ALL one community."

A number of leaders at Xbox and Xbox fans have expressed their thanks for the dedication Hyrb put into Xbox for two decades.

"Larry, it has been awesome to work alongside you on this journey," said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. "Thank you for being a friend, and for everything you’ve done for our Xbox community and team."

Microsoft's GM of Xbox games marketing Aaron Greenberg said, "Wow, the end of an era for Xbox Live’s Major Nelson. Larry, I super appreciate all you have done for Xbox over the years helping build and nurture our community and brand globally. Thank you for so many fond memories my friend, hope this next chapter for you is a great one!"

The Corporate Vice President of Xbox Sarah Bond said, "Larry – I knew Major Nelson long before I was part of Team Xbox. Working with the real person, passionate gamer and consummate pro behind the handle – incredible! THANK YOU, can't wait to see your next adventure."

The Senior Social Media Manager at Xbox Josh Stein said, "I grew up listening to Larry in college share and connect Xbox news with the fans like myself. Later in life I was so lucky to then call him coworker and share and connect over our mutual love for the community as I navigated my journey here and I will forever be grateful for him. Thank you Major Nelson, for everything and more."

The official PlayStation Twitter account gave a short response to Hyrb's tweet of a green heart and a salute emote.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

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14 Comments

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aTokenYeti (on 14 July 2023)

Incredible run and I wish him the best, end of an era.

• +3

VAMatt (on 15 July 2023)

I don't feel like he's been very visible the last several years. Haven't heard much about him, or from him. I used to watch his weekly videos when they showed up on my dashboard. But, I guess I lost track of him when that stopped.

• +2

Libara (on 14 July 2023)

Didn't realise he was 65, a good time to retire or take a substantial break.

• +2

DonFerrari (on 16 July 2023)

On twitter, that cesspoll people were putting it as negative, that he was fired for incompetence and that the rest of the higher ups would come next. But when all the relevant/know xbox leadership comes praising him that is hardly the case. He just is retiring at a normal age after decades long of good service (although I agree that have been a good 5 years or more that I don't hear his name with frequency).
Congrats and enjoy Major Nelson.

• +1

CaptainExplosion DonFerrari (on 16 July 2023)

Twitter's a cesspool regardless.

• +1

Pemalite (on 14 July 2023)

Sadly I never found him as engaging as I used to, his blog/website was the go-to to learn all the latest happenings in the Xbox world, even how many gamers played a certain game... Guess that is the sign of the times though, old media is dying off. (I.E. Forums.)

Still brilliant work being part of the brand for 20 years.

• +1

ice (on 15 July 2023)

He was doing the podcast thing before it was cool, props to major and all he did for the community.

• 0

Spade ice (on 16 July 2023)

Best moment was when he made Angry Joe cry by taking that mic away.

• 0

ice Spade (on 16 July 2023)

lmao

• -1

CaptainExplosion (on 15 July 2023)

Wherever he ends up next I hope he's doing well. :)

• 0

ClassicGamingWizzz (on 14 July 2023)

The dude was class, did good pr with little , totaly oposite of the likes of aaron greenberg thats unbearable

• 0

G2ThaUNiT ClassicGamingWizzz (on 14 July 2023)

Something we can agree on :)

• -1

scrapking G2ThaUNiT (on 14 July 2023)

What's amazing to me is that Hyrb created his own job! The whole "Major Nelson" project was a rogue project within Microsoft, and had no approval from his higher-ups. A classic example of preferring to ask forgiveness (if necessary) over asking permission.

• +3

FormerlyTeamSilent13 (on 14 July 2023)

Reminder to any Halo 4 fanboys that the amount of negative comments Halo 4 received led to Major Nelson cancelling his weekly xbox live charts.

• -1