Microsoft is losing one of its key Xbox executives who has been with the division since before the launch of the first version of the company"s game console. Marc Whitten, Microsoft"s Chief Product Officer of Xbox, will depart the company after 17 years to fill the same role at the audio hardware company Sonos.
In a news post, Microsoft said that Whitten"s team will report, for the moment, to the company"s executive vice president of the operating systems group Terry Myerson. However, the announcement added that the company is currently looking for someone to take over Whitten"s position. In a more personal letter directed to the Xbox fan community, Whitten said:
Since the beginning, it’s always been about gamers. In my heart, I am a gamer and Xbox has been my family. While today I am announcing my departure from Microsoft, I have the utmost confidence in this amazing team and our products.
Whitten, also known by his Xbox gamertag "notwen", joined Microsoft in 1997 and later became a part of the Xbox team in 2000 and helped to develop the original Xbox, the Xbox 360 and most recently the Xbox One. The rest of the Xbox leadership team, including Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer and Corporate Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Yusuf Mehdi, will remain in those roles.
Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft