A little bit of interesting timing here but it appears that Microsoft’s Xbox boss and President of the company’s Interactive Entertainment division, Don Mattrick, is leaving the software giant amidst the Xbox One controversy which took place a few weeks ago. Mattrick is reportedly leaving Microsoft for Zynga.
This report comes at an interesting time since the Xbox One was unveiled in May and has yet to be released. Why would an executive, who let the Xbox One reveal, be leaving the company so soon when the product hasn’t even been released yet? Perhaps it has something to do with the Xbox One controversy.
After Microsoft announced the Xbox One during the E3 press conference, gamers everywhere became enraged at the software giant’s DRM policy and “always online” internet requirement. Many gamers even argued that Sony’s offering was way better than Microsoft’s Xbox One. This outcry resulted in Microsoft backpedaling on its stance and removing the “always online” requirement and adjusting the DRM policy.
“Even though the Xbox One has been announced, the new console won’t be released until later this fall, which means there’s considerable work left to do. Typically executives or companies interested in an orderly transition would wait until after the product release to make such a big change in leadership,” GeekWire reports.
Looks like we will just have to wait for the official announcement from Microsoft. Who knows what really went on behind the scenes.
Update: Don Mattrick has now been announced as the CEO of Zynga. “Today is a big day. I’m excited to announce that Don Mattrick will be joining us as Zynga’s new CEO and member of our Board,” Zynga’s founder Mark Pincus stated in an official post. You can read that announcement here.
