Damon Baker Has Joined Xbox as Head of Portfolio
Damon Baker, former head of Nintendo indies, has announced that he has a new gig at Microsoft: the new Head of Portfolio for Xbox.
Baker tweeted out the news saying he’s “Been soaking up knowledge this last month as the new Head of Portfolio for #Xbox! Honored and excited to help evaluate all 2nd/3rd party content towards our strategy.”
Hey all, overdue news to share. Been soaking up knowledge this last month as the new Head of Portfolio for #Xbox! Honored and excited to help evaluate all 2nd/3rd party content towards our strategy. Big thanks to @iocat @aarongreenberg @XboxP3 and team. The future looks amazing! pic.twitter.com/isqylqnBGk
— Damon Baker (@DWBakes) January 28, 2019
Baker actually left Nintendo approximately one month ago as the Head of Partner Management where he assisted in bringing indie games to the Switch, better known as “Nindies.” The Switch’s indie scene can sometimes get overlooked but it has become a haven for indies with such recent hits such as Celeste and Hollow Knight. He also helped with bringing AAA titles to the platform from third-party publishers such as Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, DOOM, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
Nintendo recently held an Indie Highlights presentation that showcased nine indie titles coming to the Switch such as Wargroove, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, CrossCode, Goat Simulator: THE GOATY, and more.
It’s a bit unclear as to what Baker’s new role at Microsoft may entail but judging from his tweet, he might be doing something similar. Indies on Xbox have always played a big part for the brand going as far back as LIMBO with Xbox Live Arcade. With Baker behind the helm, it seems like independent games on Xbox is in safe hands.
Perhaps with Microsoft now interested in buying major studios to create a strong first-party lineup, they might also want to ensure their indie scene doesn’t get forgotten.
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