Xbox Live Boss Leaves Microsoft After 15 Years

Dan McCulloch, a 15-year Microsoft veteran who most recently worked at Xbox as the leader of Xbox Live, has left the company. McCulloch announced the news on Twitter, saying he "truly had a blast" during his run at Xbox.

He didn't reveal what's next, but McCulloch said he's "extremely excited" about the next chapter of career and he looks forward to sharing details "very soon." He might be staying in gaming, as he told his followers, "You will all be pumped" about what he's doing next.

According to his LinkedIn page, McCulloch started at Microsoft in 2005 as a program manager on non-gaming projects. He moved to the Xbox team in 2007 when he became lead producer on Forza Motorsport 3 and 4.

After that, McCulloch took on various roles on numerous Kinect titles, including Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, and Kinectimals, among others. Later, McCulloch transitioned to the Microsoft HoloLens team and then he became the head of mixed reality for Xbox, a position that saw him overseeing the augmented and virtual reality teams for Xbox.

In 2017, McCulloch became the partner general manager for Xbox Live, a position he held until leaving this week.

McCulloch is leaving Xbox at a busy time for the company. Xbox Live is reaching record numbers as people stay home due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, while Microsoft is launching the Xbox Series X later this year.