Louise O'Connor Joins Xbox Game Studios as Chief of Staff After 25 Years at Rare

Louise O'Connor, a seasoned executive producer, has been named chief of staff at Xbox Game Studios, marking the end of her 25-year tenure at Rare. According to a report by VGC, O'Connor's departure comes after the cancellation of the fantasy adventure game Everwild earlier this year. O'Connor initially joined Rare when the team was working on the 2001 platform game Conker's Bad Fur Day. The move also follows the departure of the studio's former head, Craig Duncan, who left at the end of last year to take on the role of head of Xbox Game Studios, succeeding Alan Hartman after his retirement. The cancellation of Everwild coincided with significant layoffs within Microsoft's gaming division, which occurred at the end of the company's financial year on June 30. Approximately 4% of the company's workforce was affected, resulting in around 9,000 job losses. This was the fourth round of layoffs in 18 months, with Microsoft implementing another 3% reduction in staff in May.