Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten has announced his impending departure from Microsoft.
Marc Whitten is one of those select few high-ranking executives whose name is familiar among mainstream gamers, thanks to his position at the top of Microsoft’s Xbox business. He joined the company in 2000 and has been around for the launch of all three generations of Xbox, helping lead the video game industry from a niche hobby to mainstream entertainment medium. And yesterday, he announced that he’s seen enough, and he’s moving on.
“I have had the extreme pleasure over the last 14 years to work on the greatest product with the greatest team and for the greatest community,” Whitten said. “Xbox is so special because of the amazing team I’ve had the opportunity to work with and because our fans are the most incredible fans on the planet. It has been the highlight of my career to work on a product so loved. It’s incredibly tough to leave but I am confident the best days are ahead for Xbox fans, in the capable hands of a very talented team.”
It may seem on the surface like an odd time to split the scene, given that the latest round of the “console wars” is just getting underway, but he’s not the only one to see this as an opportune time to move on to something else: Earlier this month, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton, another high-profile executive, announced that he too would be stepping down.
Microsoft said the Xbox “leadership team,” sans Whitten, will now report to Terry Myerson, the executive vice president of the operating systems group, which includes Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox. Once Whitten’s departure from Microsoft is complete, he will join audio company Sonos as chief product officer.
Source: Xbox Wire
