
Xbox's Major Nelson has today announced that he is leaving Xbox and Microsoft after over 20 years at the company, telling fans on social media that he intends to "take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career".
In his message, Major Nelson (real name "Larry Hryb") thanked the "millions of gamers around the world who have included me as part of their lives", as well as "Xbox team members for trusting me to have a direct dialogue with our customers". Here's what he had to say on Twitter:
"After 20 incredible years, I have decided to take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career. As I take a moment and think about all we have done together, I want to thank the millions of gamers around the world who have included me as part of their lives.
Also, thanks to Xbox team members for trusting me to have a direct dialogue with our customers. The future is bright for Xbox and as a gamer, I am excited to see the evolution."
We've been seeing Larry on our screens for two decades now, with the Major playing a massive part in promoting the Xbox brand over the years. In recent times, he's also been the host of the official Xbox podcast on YouTube.
As you can imagine, he's been inundated with messages of support from fans since announcing the news, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer also took to Twitter earlier today to share his own personal message of thanks:
"Larry, it has been awesome to work alongside you on this journey. Thank you for being a friend, and for everything you’ve done for our Xbox community and team."
As a personal note from the team here at Pure Xbox, we just want to say thanks to Larry for all his years of dedication to the brand! Major Nelson will undoubtedly go down as a "legend" in the history of Xbox.
Feel free to share your messages of thanks to Major Nelson in the comments section below!
[source twitter.com]
Comments 34
Wow. That’s a huge departure. Major Nelson will be missed!
Man finally got sick of the games with gold 😂
Wow this is a shock, I listen to the podcast most weeks, I hope they manage to keep that going albeit with a different host. He will be missed!
I've had the fortune of speaking with him one on one. Real nice guy.
End of an era. Major Nelson is an Xbox legend
To me that guy was synonymous with GWG. Farewell Major!
I've enjoyed his work over the years but, and this is no insult at all, I do feel some new blood might be a good idea. Just to freshen things up.
Thanks Major, you will be missed. 🤟🏻
Man. Myth. Legend. Major Nelson was the first video game influencer as he likes to say and he has always been a positive beacon of light for Xbox and had a great attitude across the generations. Will keep an eye out for his next big move!
Always sad to see someone who I saw start their journey finish it. I remember reading his quotes in Xbox magazines and such, back when that was the only way you were getting demos! 😂😂
Wish ya the best of luck on your next journey, may it be filled with fun, happiness and games!
I always appreciate a good person who seems to represent the best of the games industry regardless of platform bias.
Good luck in the future Major. Thanks for all good times.
Damn. Xbox losing Major Nelson is like Nintendo looking Reggie.
Always looked forward to Major's Minute. Always felt they gave him the shaft when they replaced him appearing on the dashboard with more generic ads.
@PartyMarty
I'll be interested what happens with the Podcast now, too. Admittedly I stopped listening to it consistently around 2014 or 15 but I'd still try to catch an episode once in a while. There's still Podcast Unlocked, which I prefer anyway, but it's good to have an official one for the brand as well. All the best to Major Nelson and hopefully the person who takes over for him can keep a fairly consistent schedule.
Sounds like he needed some time off to dedicate his life to playing Starfield….
It’s been a wild 20 years watching Xbox grow with him. All I can say is: good luck, have fun. He’s spent so much time working that it’s time to enjoy life a bit.
Have a good retirement Larry!
I'm 34 years old, so I was a kid when Larry started his podcast. I have great memories of the show. I wish Larry the very best in his future endeavors!
Major can go out with the news the ninth circuit just denied FTCs appeal of the MS/AB merger
@Gamer83 His podcast is going on a summer hiatus and will return in the Fall in a new format.
sorry but who was he and what did he do ?
xbox gamer for the last 15 years and frankly i have no idea who he is
Damn "Its an End of an Era!" Joey voice
Wow, what an icon in Xbox history, have fun playing Starfield Major To..uh Nelson
@trev666 If you’ve been gaming on Xbox and reading Xbox related news for the past 15 years then I don’t get how you could not know who Major Nelson is? He was always popping up on our dashboards during the Xbox One era as well as doing interviews and appearing in numerous videos (can’t remember if he was during Xbox 360 era as well?). I could understand if you’ve only just joined Xbox with the Series generation but to not recognise a prominent figure within the gaming community, let alone Xbox’s who’s been around for over two decades? 🤨
Anyhoo I wish Major Nelson the best in his future endeavours, he’ll be missed and will certainly go down as a legend.
I hope the timing is not indicitive of an acti/bliz boss coming in...
This guy represented the best years of xbox to me and its a real shame to see him go. I hope he enjoys his time off and finds another challenge he can enjoy.
Ah what a shame! That guy was a hero!
Id remember him a lot more fondly if he didnt act like a putz during the disastrous Xbox One launch (see the interview with Angry Joe) but 20 years as the face of anything youre gonna slip and thats one hell of a run.
LOL , he is going to be head Activision/Blizzard after the acquisition. Or even better , replace Jim Ryan who get’s the sack after the diarrhea that came out of his mouth the last couple of months. Larry Hyrb at least knows how to promote a brand in a positive way.
Wow, been listening/seeing Larry for years. We're both originally from Connecticut. Well, he has to be around 65 so he's probably just retiring from Microsoft to do something else.
@Gamer83 I did use to like Podcast Unlocked but then they added a few new co hosts and their voices do my head in so I've stopped listening. I read on The Verge that Larry may have been amongst 276 redundancies at Microsoft's Redmond HQ
wow... it's like I always see Major nelson with Xbox..
Good luck for your next projects and thanks for your work !!
@PartyMarty
Some of the hosts for the various podcasts at IGN, and the co-hosts on Unlocked, are annoying but going all the way back to the days when there was an OXM here in the U.S. and Ryan McCaffrey had a podcast for it, I've always appreciated his knowledge of Xbox and the fact he's an actual fan not somebody forced to do a podcast for Xbox just because the company feels like there has to be one.
@Mr_Wolf12000 Angry Joe is just a hack, a wannabe, and insanely irrelevant. Only reason the guy has an audience is that 95% of his subscribers are 10 year olds that think it's cool he yells and swears.
@GuyinPA75 I wouldnt argue any of that; Larry still acted like a d*** when asked a perfectly reasonable question about drm - something that indeed came back to bite Xbox in the ass. The attitude was more or less "yall will deal with it" and it was piss poor.
@Mr_Wolf12000 Major Nelson definitely had many condescending moments at Xbox. There were more than handful alone just on his podcast.
But he is still leaps and bounds better than angry Joe and the other wannabe Dr disrespect. Both are utter clowns.
@GuyinPA75 ah see I never listened to it. Saw the Joe interview during the X1 launch poostorm and ive never seen one of Dr Disrespects videos.
My non retro youtubers are RGT85, Spawn Wave, Nintendo Life and Gameranx. Thats plenty for me
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