According to a LinkedIn update, former Naughty Dog developer Robert Ryan joined Microsoft’s newest game studio, The Initiative, as a senior systems designer back in April. Despite being less than a year old, The Initiative is already filled with brilliant minds like God of War lead producer Brian Westergaard and Red Dead Redemption lead writer Christian Cantamessa.
News of Ryan’s involvement with The Initiative was originally reported by Window’s Central after Twitter user “Klobrille” posted a screenshot of Ryan’s LinkedIn profile.
Another great talent for XGS. Former Naughty Dog and The Motive Game Designer Robert Ryan joined The Initiative as a Senior Systems Designer. pic.twitter.com/jInUrqcR8C
— Klobrille (@klobrille) May 10, 2019
The Initiative’s formation was announced at E3 2018 along with many other studio acquisitions from Microsoft: Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games, and Undead Labs. Fallout: New Vegas creator Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment both followed suit not long after.
It’s unclear how many more exemplary hires The Initiative is looking to make, but Microsoft is surely gearing up for the next-gen.