Amid Harrison Exit Rumors, Xbox Team Promotes Kudo Tsunoda

Kudo Tsunoda has been promoted within the Xbox team with a new remit to lead Microsoft Studios across the US, Europe, and other territories around the globe.

Part of that role had previously been delegated to Phil Harrison, the Xbox executive who is rumored to be exiting the company. Microsoft has not yet publicly commented on the speculation that Harrison will be leaving.

Tsunoda, a recognizable face within the industry whose major work at Xbox so far has been related to Kinect, has more recently worked on software for the corporation's HoloLens technology.

He will now be leading studios such as Rare, Lionhead, and Lift London, as well as cultivating partnerships with third-party studios such as Remedy.

His promotion comes amid a wider shake-up across the corporation. Hanno Lemke, the general manager of Black Tusk Studios at Microsoft, will now be based in London and GM of UK studios.

John Needham, the studio head at Lionhead will return to Redmond to focus on HoloLens and new Xbox IP. Wil Mozell, formerly the GM of Big Park, becomes the GM of Microsoft Studios Canada and will work with Black Tusk.

While Tsunoda now has influence over the majority of Xbox games studios, the head of the division--Phil Spencer--will continue to oversee the Halo, Gears of War, Forza and Minecraft franchises.

“Kudo has been driving the creative direction and experience development for Microsoft HoloLens, and I fully expect that he will bring a fresh, innovative and gamer-centric approach to development for our expanding and diverse game portfolio across Xbox and Windows 10 devices including HoloLens," Spencer said.

"I’m confident we have the right leadership in place for continued success across our entire portfolio, and look forward to sharing more from our team in the future.”