Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson announced in July 2023 that he is leaving Microsoft after being with the Xbox team for more than 20 years. He stated that he would take a break and work on what he wanted to do next in his career but did not reveal what it would be.
However, it has now been confirmed that Hryb has joined Wisconsin-based Midwest Games, a publisher that focuses on promoting games developed by smaller developers in the American Midwest region as an advisor.
Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb Joins Midwest Games
Midwest announced on its official X/Twitter handle that Larry Hryb has joined the organization as an Advisor to the Communications team. Hryb was the senior director of corporate communications at Xbox and brings over 20 years of experience working in the gaming industry.
He is best known for his work on the development of Xbox consoles and the launch of Xbox Live. Hryb has also advised studios such as Bungie and Rare over the development of games like Halo 2, Sea of Thieves, and a few others. He was also the host of the official Xbox Podcast on YouTube which he announced will take a hiatus and return with a new format. Midwest’s tweet announcing Hryb joining the company reads:
We are thrilled to announce Larry Hryb (@majornelson) joins Midwest Games as an Advisor to our Communications team! Larry has spent the last 20 years at Microsoft/Xbox and brings a wealth of knowledge of the games industry and communications. Welcome aboard Major Nelson!
Midwest Games was launched earlier this year and recently secured $3 million in funding from Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers which was led by venture capital firm TitletownTech. Hryb also posted on his X/Twitter handle announcing his joining Midwest and said:
I am excited to join @benkvalo and the team @midwestgamesco on their mission. I always love working with developers and nothing is more rewarding the helping smaller developers realize their gaming dreams.
He further tweeted that he has joined Midwest’s board of advisors to guide them and is also working with other advisor boards so anyone shouldn’t be surprised if his name comes up with any other companies. As reported by Forbes, the company has also brought Alyssa Walles and Gina Joseph into major leadership roles at the organization to help create more opportunities for underrepresented developers.
Gina Joseph has joined the board of directors and Alyssa Walles has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of the company and joins Midwest with over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry including Sony and Disney. However, Hryb’s move to the Midwest has gamers speculating about what must have happened at Xbox that he had to move to the Midwest.
Many had believed that Hryb will eventually retire like Jim Ryan, Sony CEO who announced back in September this year that he will be stepping down as the role of CEO. Although Hryb never said that he would take retirement from the gaming industry, many had still speculated as such. An X/Twitter user reacted to Midwest’s announcement and said:
I thought Major was retiring like Jim. Guess he just wanted out of Xbox. Good luck sir.
Another user added:
He either got let go or just got tired of MS management.
One user stated:
Must be troubling times over at Xbox. People are jumping ship, no exclusives, Xbox consoles are in bargain bins, and 2027 is right around the corner.
It is understandable why gamers would think this as Hryb never really mentioned why he was leaving the organization he was employed for over 20 years. He instead said he wanted to take a step back and think about what he wanted to do next. That said, it can not be said for certain why he left Xbox.
There were also rumors of Hryb joining Nintendo as he had visited the company a few months back and posted pictures which was a point of talk among the gaming industry then and it might be true as he has already mentioned that he is in talks with other advisor boards.
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