While there are times when people have to leave a certain place in the video game industry, it’s very odd when these departures begin to stack upon one another. And recently, a lot of people have started to leave Microsoft. Some from the Hearthstone team, and now, a longtime executive that had a major impact on how the Xbox platforms were marketed and sold is leaving as well. His name is Albert Penello, and he’s leaving the company after 18 years of service.
He said this about his departure:
“Well today is a crazy day,” Penello wrote on Twitter. “I’ve made the decision after 18 years to leave Microsoft. To say it’s been a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience is an understatement. The team at Xbox has meant so much to me and I’ll be cheering them on – there is so much great stuff still to come.”
He went on to thank the people who helped make this experience fun, the fans:
I want to say thank you to all the fans and followers for the support and encouragement and great feedback over the years. It’s been awesome meeting and talking with so many of you. The FANS are the energy that keeps the team going so keep it up!!
You might not have heard his name a lot, or in the same style as people like Phil Spencer, but Penello had a major impact on the Xbox as a console series. In fact, he was there at the beginning when the original Xbox was launched. It was him who helped create the marketing plans for the Xbox, Xbox 360 and the Kinect. Then, he got promoted to help push and sell all the Xbox One lineup of systems.
This is a big loss for Microsoft, and this comes on the heels of losing some big game developer talent from their Hearthstone team. We’ll have to see if more people depart soon.
