Matt is a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft and head of Xbox Game Studios, the organization responsible for developing Microsoft games for console, PC and mobile platforms. Xbox Game Studios produces popular franchises such as Flight Simulator 2020, Age of Empires, Forza, Gears of War, Halo, Minecraft, Microsoft Solitaire and more. Matt previously led the global teams responsible for developing Minecraft. He first joined Microsoft in 2010 and helped launch the first-party game portfolio on Windows Phone. He later led internal game development teams and digital publishing on Xbox Live Arcade. Matt started his game career in 1991 as an engineer at Midway Games in Chicago and went on to work as a programmer and game designer. While at Midway, he worked alongside the teams making classic games such as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and Cruis’n USA, and contributed to some of Midway’s 3D graphics efforts in partnership with 3DFX and Nintendo. In 2002, he became the general manager of Midway’s Chicago studio. He went on to oversee studios in Seattle, San Diego, Austin, Los Angeles, the United Kingdom and Australia, and became CEO of Midway in 2008. Matt holds Bachelor of Science degrees in computer and electrical engineering and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Purdue University. A game developer at heart, Matt spends his free time writing software and creating art for personal game projects. He is also an avid aviation photographer, focused on air-to-air aviation photos of vintage warbirds (instagram: @mattbootyphoto). He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife Kristin and son Alexander.
Matt Booty
CVP, Head of Xbox Game Studios Microsoft