Xbox head of design and research leaves Microsoft after 20 years

Chris Novak, Xbox’s head of design and research, is leaving Microsoft after 20 years. He says he does this because of personal circumstances. Novak was involved in the development of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

The developer announces his departure in a post on LinkedIn. Novak says he is leaving Microsoft to take a break from work and focus on private matters. He says he will not immediately switch to another company. It is not yet known who will take over Novak’s position.

Novak started out in 2002 as the design director for several Xbox games, including Forza Motorsport. In 2009 he became a design architect for the console and was co-responsible for the early design of the first HoloLens mr glasses. For the past five years, Novak has been at the helm of the design and research department, researching Xbox users’ experiences and developing new features based on that. During that time, Novak and his department have worked on Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Live.