Microsoft snaps up former Steam chief to shore up games on Windows

During his eight year tenure at Valve, Jason Holtman was an instrumental force behind Steam and a key point of contact for developers. Along with several other notable employees, Holtman departed Valve in February of this year. Now, he has joined up with Microsoft to revitalize its Windows games business. Speaking with GamesIndustry International, Holtman confirmed the move to Microsoft but did not elaborate on his new role, other than to say:

"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."

The move comes on the heels of a long period of flagging performance and support for Microsoft's Games for Windows, so this may be seen as a hire to prop up that initiative, or overhaul the company's PC games strategy in a more general sense.