The Xbox brand is heading towards uncharted waters as the next-gen console wars loom large on the horizon
After 15 years with the company, Microsoft’s Dan McCulloch is leaving the Xbox giant for new opportunities he will be announcing “very soon.” The Xbox brand is heading towards uncharted waters as the next-gen console wars loom large on the horizon. The Xbox Series X will be going toe-to-toe with the PlayStation 5, hoping its synergy with the PC marketplace and strong online multiplayer infrastructure will be enough to compete with Sony’s lineup of first party exclusive titles.
Dan McCulloch has been with Microsoft for 15 years. Most recently, he’s been known as the General Manager of Xbox Live, the groundbreaking online service that helped the original Xbox compete against the PlayStation 2. Before that, he worked on cutting-edge technology like the HoloLens and the first generation Kinect, overseeing its lineup of first party Xbox 360 titles.
As Microsoft prepares for their next generation of Xbox, they will be moving forward without a key member of their team: Dan McCulloch. In a statement released to Twitter, McCulloch announced his departure from the company, stating that he will be pursuing a new opportunity outside of Microsoft. He stopped short of saying just what his next chapter will entail, but that he would be announcing his new career “very soon.”
Over the years, Dan McCulloch has been a key figure within Microsoft. HoloLens didn’t break out into the mainstream, but the original Kinect was a major success when it first launched. These days, it’s easy to dismiss the device because of how poorly it was implemented into the Xbox One, but the original Xbox 360 iteration was seen as downright revolutionary when it first released. The device is still used as an inexpensive 3D scanner by special effects artists to this day; it may not have been revolutionary, but Kinect will always be an important part of Microsoft’s video game history, and McCulloch is partly responsible for the device’s short-lived heyday.
As for Xbox Live, the service is a network that connects every Xbox user through storefronts, instant messaging, and online gaming. Back in its earliest days, Xbox Live was the first online console gaming service that really caught on with users. While online console gaming wasn’t brand new, the Xbox made it popular and viable in a way that completely changed the industry forever. Under McCulloch’s guidance in the last three years, Xbox Live has continued to serve as the online console infrastructure by which all others are judged.