Former Uncharted, Last of Us game designer joins Xbox Game Studios' The Initiative

Recently, Darrell Gallagher, Studio Head of The Initiative, announced that acclaimed developers like Brian Westergaard, Annie Lohr, Blake Fischer, Christian Cantamessa, and Lindsey McQueeney were now a part of the team. Microsoft founded The Initiative last year so that it could build quality Microsoft exclusives like God of War or Uncharted. It seems like the company has the developers to do just that because these individuals have worked on such games before.

Today, news surfaced that another former Naughty Dog developer had joined The Initiative. Robert Ryan is now the Senior Systems Designer at Microsoft's studio, but he previously worked on games like Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us: Part II. We verified this information through LinkedIn after the post by Twitter user "Klobrille."

See more

It's great to see that the team is hiring incredibly experienced people. Hopefully we'll get a glimpse of what they're working on at E3 2019. However, given the fact that it takes years to make games, that may not happen. Right now, The Initiative wants to stay small so that it can experiment with a variety of different games.

Apart from that, the team also looks wants to manage expectations because recently Gallagher said that he wants The Initiative "staying small" and "staying agile." Microsoft's first-party lineup has been heavily criticized this generation, so the studio has quite the task ahead of it.

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.