Chief on Xbox leaves Microsoft in Zynga

Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment division — which deals with Xbox and other game development — is leaving the company, AllThingsD reports .

According to the publication, Mattrick will occupy a leadership position in the company Zynga, engaged in the development of online games. It is possible that we are talking about the CEO post, which is now occupied by the company's founder, Mark Pincus. Shares of Zynga, the last year experiencing financial problems, after the news rose 10%.

This will be a very important appointment for Zynga and a very strong step by Pincus, who is currently attempting to redirect the company from the web and Facebook to mobile platforms. After an IPO in 2011, Zynga shares fell by 70%, and recently the company had to lay off more than five hundred people and close offices in New York and Los Angeles.
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Interestingly, Mattrick was also considered to be the head of Electronic Arts, another gaming giant who faced a number of problems and whose CEO was sacked several months ago. Sources of publication indicate that the departure of Mattrick is not associated with large-scale restructuring, started by Steve Ballmer at Microsoft.

Moreover, the loss of Mattrick will be a big blow to the company, which has no replacement for him as a manager for game development. Mattrick presented Xbox One on both recent Microsoft presentations.

Mattrick started working at Microsoft since 2007, after a long career in the gaming sector. At 17, he founded Distinctive Software, which EA subsequently bought, where he eventually headed the research and development division.