Today, Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten announced his departure from Microsoft to take the same position at wireless Hi-Fi and sound solution company Sonos. Xbox.com's "Wire Staff" posted a farewell to the 17-year Microsoft veteran, whose tenure included 14 years on the Xbox team.

"It has been the highlight of my career to work on a product so loved," Whitten said in the Xbox.com statement. "It’s incredibly tough to leave, but I am confident the best days are ahead for Xbox fans in the capable hands of a very talented team.” The report concludes with the inclusion of Whitten's Xbox Live Gamertag, assuring fans that "you can continue to play with Marc." Hopefully, he'll mute his Kinect microphone so as to hide any muffling from his high-end Sonos sound system.

In the interim, Executive Vice President Terry Myerson will temporarily take over Whitten's post, and Whitten's planned "fireside chat" appearance at GDC has already been updated to include Microsoft Studios' Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer.