Xbox VP Mike Ybarra Retiring After 20 Years

In a tweet, the longtime head revealed that he would be heading off to accomplish something new. https://twitter.com/XboxQwik/status/1182013764540850176 It appears that Ybarra is leaving on good terms. Larry Hyrb, one of the public faces of the company, shared his sentiments in a reply to the tweet.

Mike, it’s been great to be able to work with you. I know everyone at Xbox wishes you well. Thanks for everything. Good luck and we will see you online !

— Larry Hryb, Gamer Emeritus 📱⌨️🖱️🎮 (@majornelson) October 9, 2019

Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, shared some sentiments as well.

Thank you (@XboxQwik) for your many contributions to Microsoft and Xbox. You've been a strong advocate for our fans from day one, and have consistently driven to keep gamers at the center of everything we do. All of us at TeamXbox wish you the best.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 9, 2019

Throughout his time at the company, after joining up in 1999 as a software engineer, Ybarra shortly starting to lead Windows 7. From there, he moved over to the Xbox side of things as a General Manager of their online offering, Xbox Live. Then, he became a Partner Studio Manager for the platform as a whole. Fortunately for Ybarra’s fans, he isn’t leaving gaming. According to some tweets of his, the former head is doing what he can to keep bringing good to the industry. He’ll also be streaming on Mixer and Twitch under the Qwik moniker. Interestingly, this news comes during a transitionary period for Xbox and its competitor Sony. That is, both companies are gearing up for the launch of their next-generation consoles during the 2020 holiday season. It’s possible that the Xbox team is all prepped, and Ybarra felt now was the right time to leave before the big rush starts.   Just yesterday, Sony officially revealed the PlayStation 5 and all of its technical specs, as BeInCrypto has previously reported. While we don’t know much about the Xbox project, we can expect that it will follow Sony’s steps in that it will be more environmentally friendly. Apple has also entered the gaming scene recently and even started selling Microsoft’s Xbox One controller on its online store, as BeInCrypto reported earlier today. What do you think about Ybarra’s departure? Will you be following him outside of Xbox? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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