Minecraft studios boss Matt Booty has been promoted to Corporate Vice President overseeing Microsoft Studios, where he'll report directly to Phil Spencer regarding the ongoing development and production of the company's Xbox and PC titles. Microsoft Studios is the company's in-house development wing, responsible for titles like Crackdown and Gears of War.
Booty's new position at Microsoft has been vacant since March 2014, when Phil Spencer was promoted out of the role to lead the entire Xbox division. Since then, Spencer has carried on his prior responsibilities, with each of Microsoft's studio heads reporting directly to him. Recent decisions have led Spencer to bring the position back, as Microsoft plans to expand its game development investment.
Phil Spencer talked to Venture Beat about why, after three and a half years of filling in the role himself, he's now decided to promote Matt Booty:
"[It's] become very clear to me that we’re going to invest more in content, which we are doing, and that a unified studios leadership organization was going to be critical to our long-term success. I’ve asked Matt Booty to step up into the role of leading Microsoft Studios."
Matt Booty seems particularly suited for the role of overseeing Microsoft Studios, as his previous role with Microsoft was overseeing Minecraft's development. Minecraft is currently under development at multiple different studios, including its original developer Mojang. Those studios each handle different versions or platforms for Minecraft, with Booty helping maintain a unified strategy across all teams.
Studios under Booty's oversight will include Rare, The Coalition, 343 Industries, as well as the Minecraft group. Here are his comments on his promotion:
"It’s a world-class group of leaders and a world-class collection of studios. It’s a privilege to get in and help provide a layer of unification and collaboration across the studios, as we go forward helping drive the initiatives Phil talked about, getting behind the company’s vision for gaming."
Booty leaves behind a hugely successful Minecraft division which will be inherited by Helen Chiang, who was previously the group's operations manager.
Source: Venture Beat