Xbox Hires Former Tomb Raider Boss, Teases News For E3

The Xbox games team has made a big new hire. Microsoft Studios boss Matt Booty announced today that the company has hired former Tomb Raider and Activision boss Darrell Gallagher to work on the Microsoft Studios Executive Leadership Team.

Booty said he's "thrilled" for Gallagher to join the team, adding that he is "excited to share more at E3." For his part, Gallagher said he is "excited to be part of the team," teasing that there are "good things to come." Intriguingly, he used the hashtag #E32018 on his tweet. Even all-around Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, chimed in to welcome Gallagher to the team.

Gallagher has worked in video games for decades. According to his LinkedIn page, Gallagher started as Head of Creative at Sony in 1997, before joining Rockstar Games in 2004 as a lead artist. He later moved to THQ to become an Art Director, then he joined Crystal Dynamics as its Art Director in 2005. He was promoted to Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics/Eidos in 2009, before getting promoted again to Head of Product Development and Studios at Square Enix in 2013. In 2016, he joined Activision as SVP and Head of Development before finally coming to Microsoft. Needless to say, he brings a wealth of experience to the Xbox team.

Microsoft is changing things up this year with its E3 showing, which it says will be the company's "biggest" ever. We don't know exactly what to expect at this stage, but one possibility is the reveal of Halo 6, which has been discussed but not formally revealed. Microsoft is also said to be working on a PlayStation Now-like game-streaming service separate from Xbox Game Pass.

The Xbox E3 2018 briefing takes place on Sunday, June 11. There will also be briefings from Sony, Bethesda, EA, Ubisoft, and others--here is the full schedule so far.