An Xbox man through and through, Hartman joins Xbox Game Studios after a successful stint at Turn 10 studios, the ones who made the smash hit Forza series. He was the head at Turn 10 studios since 2005, during which he oversaw the release of multiple Forza titles and the release of the bespoke ForzaTech engine which powers Forza games today. He also had a role to play with the Fable Reboot, which is due to release soon.
Hartman replaces Matt Booty, who has been elevated to president of gaming content and studios. Other executives that have been assigned new roles include Sarah Bond, who is Xbox’s first black president in its 22 year existence. Phil Spencer remains the president of Microsoft gaming and the only person that Bond reports to. As Microsoft assumes control over some exciting IPs including, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, we can expect to see a few more assignments and promotions. It will also be interesting to see who assumes the leadership of Activision Blizzard, as the current CEO, Bobby Kotick will step down from his post at the end of 2023.
