The man responsible for steering Steam through eight unfathomably successful years has a new job at the Company Who Forgot PC Gaming. In his new role, Jason Holtman will oversee Microsoft’s PC gaming strategy. Which means he’s going to have to come up with one.
“Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment,” Holtman told GamesIndustry. “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.”
Holtman left Valve in February amid rumours of “group layoffs”. Before that, he was the man developers talked to about getting their games on Steam. During his tenure, he was largely responsible for convincing the likes of EA and Activision that selling their catalogues through the service might be a good thing.
Holtman now inherits Microsoft’s own digital distribution system, Games for Windows Live, which by this stage appears to have stopped floundering and simply given up.
Honestly, this is a hugely positive step from a publisher and platform holder that seemed determined not to acknowledge the existence of the PC at all throughout E3. Valve have increasingly occupied the vacuum vacated by Microsoft, so who better to help the Redmond tech giant reclaim some of that space than Holtman?
Thanks, GamesIndustry.