On Microsoft’s E3 stage, the gaming giant answered the criticism of its first-party slate by announcing a number of acquisitions. The crown jewel of their studio announcements, though, was the founding of a new internal first-party studio called The Initiative, which was created to make prestige games for Microsoft’s platforms. Now, the new studio has reportedly hired veteran Rockstar Games technical director Tom Shepherd to join The Initiative.
As reported by WindowsCentral, Shepherd’s LinkedIn profile was updated yesterday to mention that he now works at The Initiative. Shepherd has been working at Rockstar for a number of years and has Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto V, and more under his belt, which is a pretty impressive resume.
While it’s not clear what position Shepherd now occupies at The Initiative, the studio had been hiring for a technical director already, and Shepherd seems an obvious fit for that role. While the Initiative has not announced any projects, and likely won’t for a few years still, Microsoft seem to be counting on them as a pillar of their upcoming strategy. They might not even have anything at all for the Xbox One.
[Source: WindowsCentral]
