Chris Novak, one of Xbox’s big creative forces, exits after nearly 20 years
If you’ve subscribed to Game Pass or obsessed over Xbox achievements, you’re familiar with Chris Novak’s work.
The head of Xbox research and design is leaving the company after nearly 20 years. Novak has led the user experience research and design efforts for more than five years, and previously held positions as Xbox design director and Xbox design architect. Across these roles, Novak was responsible for user experience in many of the company’s biggest projects, including Xbox Game Pass, along with cloud gaming and Xbox Live.
“Microsoft has been where I’ve gotten to learn in the crucible of gaming, from the world’s best across the industry,” Novak told Polygon. “I’ve got to see it in its best times and its worst times. And that learning process, I tremendously treasure.”
Novak took over Microsoft’s Xbox research and design at a turning point for the company and its flagship console. When the Xbox One launched in 2013, Microsoft’s marketing strategy failed the console: The Xbox 360 had succeeded in capturing a major gaming audience, but Microsoft looked to the Xbox One to become a full-on entertainment system. The Xbox One reveal was a notorious disaster, focusing on everything but video games. Microsoft quickly realized it had to win back gamers, but never entirely gave up on the entertainment platform either.
Novak came on as head of Xbox research and design right after Microsoft was pushing hard, publicly, on the idea of Xbox being focused primarily on video games. While consoles were still important, the more exciting idea for Xbox leadership was the freedom to play Xbox games on different devices, beginning with the launch of Xbox Play Anywhere, which let players access games on a Windows PC or a console.
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