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Xbox CVP Mike Ybarra leaves Microsoft after 20 years

Xbox CVP Mike Ybarra leaves Microsoft after 20 years

Microsoft's Mike Ybarra has announced his departure from the Xbox firm after almost 20 years.

The corporate vice president of Xbox Live, Game Pass and the company's Mixer streaming service revealed he was leaving via Twitter, saying that he is "incredibly proud" of what the firm has accomplished.

"After 20 years at Microsoft, it's time for my next adventure," he said.

"It's been a great ride at Xbox and the future is bright. Thanks to everyone at TeamXbox, I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished and I wish you the best. More soon on what's next for me (super excited)!

"Most importantly I want to thank all of you fellow gamers, and our great fans, for all the support. Keep gaming and I hope to see you online soon!"

Ybarra joined Microsoft in 2000 as a systems engineer, moving to the Big M's games business in October 2009 as GM of Xbox Live. He held that role for three years, moving to managing Xbox first-party titles such as Gears of War 3, Sunset Overdrive and, er, Ryse: Son of Rome. In 2014, he was promoted to CVP of Xbox platform program management before rising to his current role in January 2017.

There's no indication as to where Ybarra is off to just yet, but with so many execs shuffling around at Sony Interactive Entertainment - and the PlayStation maker being headquartered in California, USA now - one has to wonder if he will hop the fence to Xbox's big rival.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.