Mike Ybarra, corporate vice president of Microsoft's gaming division across Xbox and PC, has announced his departure from the company after almost 20 years.

Ybarra initially joined Microsoft as a systems engineer in 2000, then, after several senior roles in other divisions, became part of the Xbox family in 2009 as general manager of Xbox Live. Ybarra began his current role as corporate vice president of gaming in 2017, where he oversaw the likes of Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass, and Mixer.

Announcing his departure on Twitter, Ybarra wrote, "After 20 years at Microsoft, it's time for my next adventure. It's been a great ride at Xbox and the future is bright. Thanks to everyone at TeamXbox, I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished and I wish you the best."

Mike Ybarra.

Ybarra also promised to share news of his next venture "soon", only revealing that he was "super excited" about his future endeavours.

"Most importantly," Ybarra concluded, "I want to thank all of you fellow gamers, and our great fans, for all the support. Keep gaming and I hope to see you online soon!"

In response to Ybarra's tweets, head of Xbox Phil Spencer wrote, "Thank you for your many contributions to Microsoft and Xbox. You've been a strong advocate for our fans from day one, and have consistently driven to keep gamers at the center of everything we do. All of us at TeamXbox wish you the best."