Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan and Chief of Staff Louise O'Connor Step Down - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 15 June 2026 / 2,683 Views
Craig Duncan, the head of Xbox Game Studios, has stepped down after 20 months in the role, according to The Game Business.
He replaced Alan Hartman in November 2024 and oversaw all the studios under the Xbox Game Studios banner. This included Halo Studios, The Coalition, Flight Sim, Turn 10, Playground Games, Rare, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, Double Fine, InXile, Undead Labs, World’s Edge and XGS Publishing.
The studios will now report to Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty until a a replacement is found.
Duncan has been part of Xbox since 2011 and ran UK developer Rare for nearly 14 years. He oversaw development on Sea of Thieves and before that Rare's lineup of Kinect titles.
Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor will also be leaving the company.
O'Connor joined Rare in 1999 as an animator on the Nintendo 64 game Conker’s Bad Fur Day. She worked on a number of art and production roles at the developer. She left Rare after Everwild was cancelled in 2025 to become the Xbox chief of staff in September 2025.
"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," wrote Duncan in an email sent to staff. "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."
On O’Connor, he added, "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."
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 follow the author on Bluesky.
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is this because they don't want to be the ones firing all these people, and potentially closing studios ?
Its called organizational restructuring.
Oh man, of all the studios that Microsoft destroyed and will destroy, Rare will always be the one that hurt the most to see...
Probably just the beginning of more bleeding.
That turned out to be M understatement.
Dude was always a weird choice. Rare hadn't put out any new games in years and their, at that time, new title was in development hell.
Doesn't seem like the best suited individual to suddenly start running a multitude of studios.
I'm sure Louise would be welcome at Playtonic.
The grindhouse needs that Rare Honey baby!!!
