Ed Fries Resigns

Ed Fries, Vice President of Games Publishing at Microsoft Game Studios has resigned. As the chief architect of Microsoft’s first party development strategy, and responsible for acquiring developers such as Bungie and Rare, Fries was one of the most important figures in the Xbox world, reporting only to Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach. Fries’ resignation comes after several attempts from Microsoft to convince him to stay, although the sticking points seems to have been Fries’ desire to have more freedom to design products and determine how they come to market. Fries has given no indication of what he might do now, other than a statement that he is keen to "pursue other goals". He will be replaced by Shane Kim, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft Game Studios.