Xbox Game Studios Boss Departs - IGN Daily Fix YT

[00:00] What's up everybody? Damon here and for

[00:01] today's daily fix, we have two Xbox game

[00:04] studios leaders depart and a firstparty

[00:06] Xbox developer is reportedly shut down.

[00:08] This is your daily fix.

[00:20] Presented by Universal Orlando Resort

[00:22] and its newest theme park, Universal

[00:23] Epic Universe.

[00:27] Two of Microsoft's most senior managers

[00:29] overseeing Xbox Game Studios are

[00:30] reportedly departing the business. Head

[00:32] of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan and

[00:34] chief of staff Luis Okconor are leaving

[00:36] Xbox after decades at the firm. Both

[00:38] previously served long tenures at

[00:40] celebrated British studio Rare, which

[00:42] Duncan headed up for more than 10 years.

[00:44] Duncan wrote in an email announcing his

[00:46] departure, "When I stepped into the role

[00:47] of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose

[00:50] was to serve our studios, our teams, and

[00:52] the people making our games. Together,

[00:54] we set out to deliver high-quality

[00:55] games, strengthen the cultural fabric

[00:57] across our studios, and help shape the

[00:59] future of the business. I'm proud to say

[01:01] we deliver many flawless launches that

[01:02] drove business success for the company.

[01:04] Louise has been a thoughtful, creative,

[01:06] and trusted partner who has consistently

[01:08] championed the craft and supported our

[01:09] studios with clarity and care. I'm

[01:11] grateful for everything she's brought to

[01:12] XGS, and I'm sure she'll be successful

[01:14] in whatever comes next for her. The

[01:16] departures were first reported today by

[01:17] the game business. No reason was given

[01:19] for their joint exit, though it comes at

[01:20] a time of intense concern for the future

[01:22] of Xbox Game Studios and its staff after

[01:24] a dire warning from new Xbox boss Asha

[01:27] Chararma over the division's slim profit

[01:29] margin. Chararma's comments have been

[01:30] taken by many as a public warning that

[01:32] job losses are imminent and indeed a

[01:34] Bloomberg report signal that layoffs

[01:35] would happen as soon as next month. Fans

[01:37] are particularly concerned over the fate

[01:38] of several smaller teams such as Double

[01:40] Fine and the already downsized Turns 10

[01:42] Studios. One analyst said, "The studios

[01:44] most exposed are brilliant for prestige

[01:46] and rotten for the spreadsheet." And

[01:48] speaking of, Microsoft is reportedly

[01:51] planning to shut down South of Midnight

[01:52] and We Happy Few developer Compulsion

[01:54] Games. It also developed 2013's

[01:56] Contrast. Kitaki reports that the

[01:58] layoffs may total more than 90 staff

[02:00] just months after the Canadian studio

[02:02] was advertising jobs for a new IP.

[02:04] Microsoft has yet to comment. South of

[02:05] Midnight, an action adventure game set

[02:07] in a fictionalized American deep south,

[02:09] launched in April 2025. While it was

[02:11] wellreceived by critics, it failed to

[02:13] find a significant audience. It launched

[02:15] on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2

[02:17] in March. Compulsion Games is a Canadian

[02:18] developer founded in 2009. Xbox acquired

[02:21] it in 2018. And that is your daily fix

[02:23] for Monday, June 15th. Now that you're

[02:25] caught up on the news, check out this

[02:26] exclusive boss fight gameplay from Final

[02:28] Fantasy Residence. I'm Damon Hatfield.

[02:30] And for all your video game news, stay

[02:31] tuned to IGN.