Xbox: Chris Novak, one of the thinking heads of Game Pass, leaves the ship | XboxOne

If you are a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass and you diligently follow the news of big Microsoft productions, the name of Chris Novak should not be foreign to you. After nearly 20 years of good and loyal service at the green brand, the man says he is grateful for the work accomplished and the trust placed in him and now wishes to concentrate on other projects, while specifying that big things are coming to Xbox soon.

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Chris Novak, Xbox’s handyman

Head of brand research and design for over 5 years, Novak also served as design director and architect right after the Xbox One announcement debacle which focused more on gadgets and gadgets. ancillary functionalities as well as on what was to constitute the very essence of the machine and its presentation: the video game. Through his various functions, he was also responsible for the user experience for some of the biggest projects of the American firm such as Cloud Gaming, Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft was where I got to learn from the crucible of gaming, from the best in the industry. I was able to know the best and the worst moments of the company. And this learning process, I cherish it very much.

On the sidelines of his departure, the man also wanted to share his best memories at Xbox. He notably evokes Phil Spencer’s deep desire to offer the possibility for gamers to enjoy the Xbox ecosystem anywhere and anytime, which notably led Novak to work on Microsoft’s touch adapter kit for the Xbox Cloud. Gaming: a stage in his career that he considers particularly glorious.

Novak also remembers the launch of photo modes and in-game achievements, two features that are well known to current gamers, but which almost didn’t see the light of day, or at least not in this form. But according to him, the biggest challenge of his career has been to find the right balance with each addition of new features so as not to distort and complicate the player experience.

It’s very easy to build things that are new, but not better. Most people want their gaming experience to be comfortable, familiar, and fast. She needs to connect them to what they want as fast as possible, and each time you do something new, you can ask them to use a different button or think of a different stream. And that can frustrate them.