Xbox Live GM Dan McCulloch leaving company after 15 years

By Jon Silman Published June 30, 2020

Xbox Live leader Dan McCulloch is leaving after more than a decade at Microsoft.

“After 15 years at Xbox, I announced today that I would be leaving. I made so many friends, learned so much and truly had a blast! I’m extremely excited about the next opportunity in my career and I will be announcing that very soon, you all will be pumped! ;) Thank you!!!” he said in a tweet.

Recommended Videos

After 15 years at XBOX, I announced today that I would be leaving. I made so many friends, learned so much and truly had a blast! I'm extremely excited about the next opportunity in my career and I will will be announcing that very soon, you all will be pumped! ;) Thank you!!! pic.twitter.com/dcbhKCgn8f

— Dan McCulloch 🎮 (@McDanRandom) June 30, 2020

McCulloch didn’t say where he’s going, but from the announcement, it sounds like he could stay in gaming. On his LinkedIn page, McCulloch described his job as Xbox Live chief: “As the General Manager of Xbox Live I’m Currently focused on growing the Xbox Live community to 100M+ users across all devices, managing a P&L of over $1B and leading a cross-discipline team of service and user experience experts.”

Microsoft is at an important, transitional crossroad right now as it prepares to launch its next-generation console, the Xbox Series X, in time for the holiday season this year. McCulloch leaves Microsoft as Xbox Live is seeing historic numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a recent third-quarter earnings call, the company announced it was getting record engagement numbers, with Xbox Live active users getting close to 90 million and Xbox Game Pass subscribers passing 10 million.

McCulloch started at Microsoft in May 2005 as a program manager, where he worked on partnerships with Yahoo, France Telecom, and AT&T. After that, he was involved with Kinect and handled integration and launch titles for the now-defunct peripheral.

He continued to work as a studio executive in the field of emerging products, hiring workers for unnamed Microsoft projects. In 2014, he was put on the Hololens team as a studio manager, and from there he worked on the augmented and virtual reality team. In 2017, he was named to his position as general manager of Xbox Live.

“I now run the Xbox live team that handles scale, reliability, new social features, safety and discovery across console, PC and Mobile,” he said at the time.

With his pedigree, McCulloch is an attractive hire for any game company.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gaming

Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for November 22

Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 16, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "SPINE." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter P.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle is something you might find in an oyster.

Gaming

NYT Connections: hints and answers for Friday, November 22

New York Times' Connection puzzle open in the NYT Games app on iOS.

Connections is one of the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others — just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If you're having a little trouble solving today's puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for today's Connections puzzle below. And if you still can't get it, we'll tell you today's answers at the very end.
How to play Connections

Gaming

NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Friday, November 22

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you'll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There's no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you're stuck and need to know the answers to today's Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
How to play Strands
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the "theme words" hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.