Iconic Xbox personality Major Nelson leaves Microsoft after 2 decades with company

Larry Hryb, most well-known in the gaming community as Major Nelson, departed Microsoft on July 14 after spending over 20 years with the company—but Xbox fans will never forget the work he put in for the console.

Major Nelson arrived at Microsoft in January 2001 to be the editor-in-chief of MSN Music but moved to the gaming department in June 2003 after taking on the role of senior project manager. The executive shipped three different video game consoles—Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S—and contributed to the creation of some of Xbox’s most known features: the achievement system, the in-game chat, and cloud saves.