With the release of the highly-anticipated Halo 5: Guardians just around the corner, one of the people tasked with making sure that the title will not be having network problems for its online multiplayer sessions on Xbox Live revealed that he is leaving Microsoft and Xbox.
Eric Neustadter, who is also known simply as "e" on the Xbox Live network and its architecture director, tweeted Oct. 24 that it would be the last day of him working at Xbox and Microsoft. He has been working at Xbox for 14.5 years and at Microsoft for 18.5 years.
After 14.5 years working at Xbox (18.5 at MS) today is my last day. It's been an amazing ride. So Long, and Thanks for All the Gamerscore!
— Eric Neustadter (e) (@thevowel) October 23, 2015
Neustadter was instrumental in guiding the creation and further development of the Xbox Live network into its current form as a premier online gaming service, with the network now boasting a monthly active user base of 39 million gamers. Neustadter's leadership helped establish the first truly successful online network for a gaming console that is subscription-based, with Xbox Live now widely seen as the standard in providing such services within the video game sector.
The departure of Neustadter could be worrisome for Halo gamers. Xbox Live was able to catapult early Halo games, from Halo 2 onwards, into among the most played online shooting games that have ever been released for the Xbox. Halo: The Master Chief Collection turned out to be disappointing partly due to several connection problems, but the series is now rebounding after fixes were implemented.
Beyond the Xbox Live network, Neustadter was one of the most publicized faces of the gaming brand of Microsoft, along with Xbox chief Phil Spencer and director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb. Neustadter is also famously known for being the first person to create a gamertag for Xbox Live.
Neustadter's influence and importance to Xbox Live can be seen in the responses to his tweet that announced he was leaving Microsoft, as people from all over the industry and outside of it express their disbelief of his departure.
