I går kveld kom det frem at Xbox-sjef Don Mattrick forlater Microsoft etter seks års tjeneste, og i dag ble det bekreftet at han overtar som ny leder for mobil-/sosialspillutvikleren Zynga.
Etterfølgeren til Mattrick er imidlertid ikke klar enda, og nå skriver administrerende direktør hos Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, at han selv vil overta lederrollen for Xbox-avdelingen, ved siden av hans nåværende plikter.
Det kommer frem av et internt brev til Microsofts ansatte, som spillsiden Kotaku har fått tak i.
Der heter det at Mattricks nærmeste samarbeidspartnere, som har har ansvaret for de ulike leddene i Xbox-avdelingen (lederne av maskinvareutviklingen, markedsføringssjefene, lederne for de ulike spillstudioene osv.) nå vil rapportere direkte til Ballmer:
- Dons direktører rapporterer til meg, og vil fortsette den daglig driften som et team, med spesielt fokus på lanseringen av Xbox One i november, skriver Ballmer.
Vi antar at dette gjelder for en overgangsperiode, og at en ny leder for Xbox-avdelingen vil bli utnevnt på et senere tidspunkt. Hvorvidt Mattricks håndtering av kritikken etter Xbox One-annonseringen har påvirket avgangen fra Microsoft, vites ikke. Det spørs også om noen av partene noen gang vil innrømme noe sånt, dersom det er tilfellet.
Hele brevet fra Steve Ballmer lyder som følger:
From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013
To: Microsoft - All Employees
Subject: Don Mattrick's Next Chapter
Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don's directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.
Since joining IEB more than six years ago, Don and his team have accomplished much. Xbox Live members grew from 6 million to 48 million. Xbox 360 became the No. 1 selling console in North America the past two years. We introduced Kinect and have sold more than 24 million sensors. We released fantastic games, and, most importantly, we expanded Xbox to go beyond great gaming to deliver all the entertainment people want - sports, music, movies, live television and much more.
In the past month, the IEB team showed for the first time here on our Redmond campus, and again at E3, how we are going to continue to transform entertainment with Xbox One. I am incredibly proud of the work and vision culminating in Xbox One.
I'm particularly excited about how Xbox pushes forward our devices and services transformation by bringing together the best of Microsoft. The consoles are incredible all-in-one devices with built-in services that consumers love, including Bing, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer, SkyDrive and Skype. And, just as important, Xbox Games, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and SmartGlass light up Windows PCs, tablets and phones.
Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry. The strong leadership team at IEB and their teams are well positioned to deliver the next-generation entertainment console, as well as transformative entertainment experiences, long into the future.
Steve.