Kudo Tsunoda Leaves Xbox Division to Head Windows Apps Studio

Kudo Tsunoda, former creative director of Kinect, has left the Xbox group to assume a role at Microsoft with a much broader remit. The announcement was made by Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft's Windows and devices group, in an email sent to employees.

Tsunoda has been appointed as the president of the company's Windows Apps Studio and, as part of this role, will focus on the development of applications across multiple Microsoft devices and services. Among these are HoloLens and the Microsoft Edge browser.

"On the heels of the successful release of the November update for Windows 10 and the New Xbox One Experience, Microsoft added two new members to the Windows and Devices Group Leadership Team," an unnamed Microsoft representative told GameSpot.

"Kudo Tsunoda [joins] as CVP Windows Apps Studio and Chuck Friedman as CVP Windows Shell Program Management. These changes will help Microsoft continue to deliver great experiences on Windows 10 and devices, including Xbox, Surface and HoloLens."

On March 9, Tsunoda was promoted within the Xbox team and tasked with leading Microsoft Studios across the US, Europe, and other territories around the globe. This role had previously been delegated to Phil Harrison, the Xbox executive who exited the company in April. Tsunoda also worked on software for Microsoft's augmented reality headset, HoloLens.

Replacing Tsunoda as head of Microsoft's studios are Hanno Lemke and Shannon Loftis, who will report to head of Xbox Phil Spencer.