Microsoft’s new studio, The Initiative, has brought on a handful of fresh hires from various well-established studios including Rockstar, Santa Monica Studio, and Crystal Dynamics.
The Initiative, first announced back in June during E3, is a Santa Monica-based studio headed by industry vet Darrell Gallagher that’s currently working on an unannounced game.
Gallagher initially welcomed the newest additions to the team on LinkedIn, but has since deleted the post. ResetEra user CrimsonEclipse was able to screenshot the news before the post was removed.
New additions to the team include God of War (2018) lead producer Brian Westergaard, Rockstar’s Christian Cantamessa, Crystal Dynamics’ Daniel Neuburger, and Microsoft’s senior director of portfolio planning Blake Fischer.
Crystal Dynamic’s Lindsey McQueeney also joins The Initiative as its new HR and culture manager, joined by Annie Lohr, a recruiter who’s worked at Riot, Respawn, and EA.
It isn’t clear why Gallagher’s announcement was deleted in the first place, but some of the recent staff like Lohr, McQueeny, and Westergaard have gone on to share their new positions on LinkedIn.
