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Xbox's high-powered marketing executive has left the company to join rival gaming platform Roblox.
Jerret West oversaw the creation and delivery of multiple marketing campaigns, including those of games and consoles, and helped in product expansion such as Xbox's Netflix-like subscription service Game Pass, according to an internal memo penned by Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
Jerret West had spent eight years working at Xbox as a part of its marketing and product division before he left for Netflix to head various marketing teams. He returned to Microsoft in 2019 as Xbox's chief marketing officer.
His departure comes amid a wider restructuring of the marketing department for the console brand. Marketing for new games will now be handled by a team that reports to Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty. Meanwhile, marketing for consoles and other hardware efforts will be managed by another team that reports directly to Xbox President Sarah Bond.
"Going forward, the Gaming Leadership Team and I have decided to place marketing closer to the businesses they support," Phil Spencer said in the internal memo, seen by Reuters.
Jerret West is the second key Xbox executive to resign in the last three months.
Former Head of Emerging Technology for Xbox, Kareem Choudhry, left Microsoft back in April. This triggered another shake-up of the teams within Xbox, leading to the creation of a brand-new Experiences and Platforms team designed to improve the Xbox software across Windows and consoles.
Until now, it's only been possible to upgrade to a 1TB SSD with the Series S if you bought the Carbon Black model released last year. With this latest refresh, you'll still be able to enjoy the trademark Robot White finish too
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It's been a tumultuous time for Xbox. Out of the blue, Microsoft shut multiple gaming studios from its portfolio in May as part of cost-cutting measures following its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King — the company behind hits like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush — and its almost 10,000 employees.
Xbox has not revealed the number of employees impacted by its most recent round of layoffs. Growth in personal computing and console gaming is expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels as gamers record fewer hours of playtime owing to weaker release schedules, data from research firm Newzoo showed.
The "reprioritization of titles and resources" is so that Xbox can invest deeply into its portfolio of games and new intellectual property, according to Xbox exec Matt Booty. All the affected studios are units of ZeniMax Media, which was acquired by Microsoft for $7.5 billion in 2021, and Bethesda.
Microsoft previously laid off 1,900 employees at Activision and Xbox at the start of the year.
Earlier this month, Microsoft held its annual Xbox Games Showcase, where it unveiled new all-digital consoles and trailers for games including the new Call of Duty title as it looks to spark consumer enthusiasm amid broader spending weakness in the industry.
The revised Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X will launch in the autumn to capitalise on the Christmas shopping rush — and kit out those who want to buy Grand Theft Auto 6 on launch day.
If that sounds familiar it's likely because it's also when rumours suggest we'll see the long-rumoured PlayStation 5 Pro land on store shelves. If those whispers prove accurate, that means these refreshed Xbox consoles will go head-to-head with the new competition from Sony during the busiest shopping period.
Given recent sales data suggests Sony PS5 is outselling Xbox Series X and Series S at a ratio of five-to-one, Microsoft will hope these new consoles can reverse that trend. Unfortunately, those hoping for a dramatic shake-up of the Xbox line-up will be sorely disappointed.
Like the Series S, the Xbox Series X is now available in Robot White with a colour-matched wireless controller. This colourway is only available on the all-digital version, which ditches the ability to play Blu-ray discs and physical game
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First up, Microsoft has announced a new Xbox Series S with 1TB of internal storage — twice as much as the original console.
Everything from the standard Series S remains unchanged, including the "Robot White" finish, colour-matched wireless controller, and all-digital set-up for watching movies and playing games.
With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III taking up 200GB of storage space alone, Microsoft addressed the lack of storage on its Xbox Series S with the introduction of the Carbon Black colourway in September last year, which also arrived with a 1TB SSD.
With the latest shake-up to the line-up, you'll now be able to choose between Carbon Black and Robot White and still enjoy more storage capacity for your games, movies, and apps.
Microsoft has ditched the disc drive from its flagship Xbox Series X with a new All-Digital variant of the console that comes in the Series S's trademark "Robot White" colour for the first time. Aside from the new colourway and the missing Blu-ray and game slot, there's no difference between this Series X and the previous model.
Finally, an all-new Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Special Edition will be available to buy later this year. It comes equipped with the biggest SSD we've ever seen in an Xbox and a new interstellar-themed paint job.
Xbox Series X Galaxy Black is a Limited Edition new console with a beefier 2TB SSD and a interstellar-themed paint job MICROSOFT PRESS OFFICE Describing the all-singing, all-dancing new console, Roanne Sones, Head of Xbox Devices penned in a company blog post: "Experience the fastest, most powerful Xbox, now with a 2TB SSD. This new special edition Xbox Series X delivers the same speed, performance and features of Xbox Series X, but with twice the storage and a unique design.
"Drawing inspiration from constellations and the spirit of exploration and adventure that outer space evokes, the special edition console in Galaxy Black features a silver, grey, and green celestial effect representing thousands of games and millions of gamers playing on Xbox.
"Hold on to the action with a matching Xbox Wireless Controller, featuring a Galaxy Black D-pad and Velocity Green back case, only available with this special edition console."
The flagship Xbox Series X will cost $599.99 in the United States and €649.99 in Europe, with no UK price confirmed. Given that the standard 1TB-equipped Series X costs £479.99, we'd expect this to be closer to £579.
As well as the new hardware, the Xbox Games Showcase also saw a slew of new titles confirmed for the console, including Doom: The Dark Ages, the latest instalment in the long-running Doom franchise, as well as a very early look at the newest Gears of War title, ending a five-year wait for one of Xbox's most popular properties.
Almost all of the games announced, including the new Doom, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, South Of Midnight, Perfect Dark, and Call of Duty, will all be available on Xbox Game Pass on the day of launch, indicating that Microsoft is making big bets on the subscription service as it tries to woo consumers grappling with a relatively softer economy.
The Games Showcase was followed by a special feature from Activision Blizzard's studios that highlighted features, characters and gameplay of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which is slated for a worldwide release in early October.
Developers Treyarch and Raven software showed clips from the campaign of the game that takes place in the early 1990s, touting features such as a new movement system allowing players to sprint in all directions, and a glimpse at the fan favorite "Zombies" mode.
