We reported in October about Jason Holtman, former Valve employee being roped in by Microsoft to head their sinking PC gaming division.
Neowin spotted Jason Holtman’s update on his LinkedIn page today which shows that he quit Microsoft in January. That’s not too far away from October, being only six months. The reason for his departure is unknown, nor is the company he will be joining next.
Holtman was high up in Valve’s business operations, and worked there for eight years. He is responsible for brining indies to sell their games Steam. Known as a hard negotiator and skilled dealmaker, Holtman is by large credited for convincing triple-A publishers such as EA, Activision and Ubisoft to sell their games directly on Steam.
The news about him moving to Microsoft raised speculation about Windows trying to make itself a game distribution platform. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
When Holtman joined Microsoft he told GamesIndustry International: “Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment.
“I think there is a lot of opportunity for Microsoft to deliver the games and entertainment customers want and to work with developers to make that happen, so I’m excited to be here.”
Microsoft confirmed his departure in an official statement: “”We can confirm that Jason has left Microsoft and we’re grateful for his time at the company. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Microsoft and PC gaming. With Games for Windows Live set to discontinue soon, Microsoft’s standing is uncertain.
