Microsoft is shuffling the Studio Head behind its top gaming franchise, Halo, to come and work on its growing mixed reality team.
Dan Ayoub had been working with 343 Industries, the developer behind the last two Halo games, as Studio Head of External development since November 2014. This week, though, a blog post on the Halo Waypoint portal noted that Ayoub was leaving the studio to go and work on another important area of Microsoft: mixed reality.
“Today we’re sad to be saying bon voyage to one of our own, as Dan Ayoub – who’s worked on Halo games since Halo: Reach all the way back in 2009, bids us, and the gaming industry, a fond adieu,” the post reads. “Dan is set to begin a new adventure within Microsoft in Mixed Reality, where he’ll be pursuing one of his passions…the empowerment of education through technology.”
From the looks of it, he’ll be working closely with Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda.
So happy to work with this amazing person!!! @Danayoub https://t.co/zJ2fC3urXT
— Kudo Tsunoda (@KudoTsunoda) May 12, 2017
We’ve reached out to Microsoft to find out more about Ayoub’s new role; specifically what his title will be and what educational work he’s doing.
As the blog post suggests, Ayoub has been with Microsoft far longer than his time at 343, previously joining the company as an Executive Producer in 2010. Before that he held roles as other big publishers like Ubisoft and EA.
The news comes after a big week for Microsoft’s mixed reality, launching pre-orders for the developer editions of its Windows 10 VR headsets, made in partnership with HP and Acer, and revealing a new pair of motion controllers for the kit too. The developer kits ship in August while consumer versions — and the controllers — will be coming later this year. We’re eager to see what that will mean for developers like 343 Industries, especially with E3 right around the corner.
