Former Tomb Raider boss joins Xbox leadership team

Xbox has made a significant hire in Darrell Gallagher, who joins the executive leadership team of Microsoft Studios.

Gallagher joins the platform holder from Activision, where he held the roles of senior vice president and head of development.

He has also worked at Square Enix, Rockstar and Sony, but is best known for more than ten years at Crystal Dynamics, starting as art director in 2005 and rising to head of studio in 2009.

Having contributed to the series revival in Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary and Underworld, Gallagher was responsible for running the studio as it reinvented Lara Croft for her 2013 reboot.

The hire was announced via Twitter by Microsoft Studios chief Matt Booty, who said he was "thrilled to welcome" Gallagher to the team and "excited to share more at E3."

It's not clear what his exact role is, with even Gallagher's LinkedIn page simply listing "Microsoft Studios Executive Leadership Team" as his position.

Gallagher also teased E3 as he retweeted Booty's status, adding: "Excited to be part of the team. Good things to come #E32018."

Xbox is hyping up its E3 presence this year, having moved its main showcase away from the Los Angeles Convention Center to the nearby Microsoft Theater.

The platform holder claims it will be the "biggest showing ever" for Xbox. With the enhanced Xbox One X console now out, this is likely to focus primarily on tentpole game announcements - most likely Halo 6, almost certainly Forza Horizon 4 - but we won't find out until its E3 2018 briefing on Sunday, June 10th.