While Xbox and Microsoft are always expanding, some of their more influential franchises come from the beginning of the brand’s rise in success. However, it’s not about Xbox or Microsoft but rather the insanely talented teams that worked on these wonderful games.

It’s worth noting that every game takes a huge team of people so it’s impossible for them to all be mentioned here. However, the people behind your favorite Xbox franchises have probably had a hand in more games than you think. Let’s delve into these amazing people and the games they’re most famous for.

10 Halo: Jason Jones

Jason Jones served as the project lead for Halo 2. He co-founded the video game studio responsible for making Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 3 until they sold the franchise to Microsoft. While Jason Jones wasn’t the lead for the first Halo, his creation of the studio Bungie allowed Halo to get to the popularity it’s at now and certainly had a considerable impact on Xbox gaming as you see it now.

A few honorable mentions for Halo are important since it’s such a huge game that has been worked on by so many amazing people. The story that gamers know by heart was completed by Joseph Staten. The gameplay was headed by Jaime Griesemer and the iconic music was initially written by Martin O’Donnell. The composers changed every game but no one can forget the original.

9 Forza Horizon: Ben Thaker-Fell

The announcement of the new Forza Horizon game has got gamers everywhere talking. It’s a stunning piece of art and follows countless other Forza games that have never failed to hit the nail on the head. This success can be linked to the Principal Game Designer of Forza Horizon 3, Ben Thaker-Fell. He worked as a game designer for every Forza Horizon and is one of the main people around its success.

As one of the frontrunners of Playground Games, Ben Thaker-Fell really knows what he’s talking about and seems to be one of the best people for the job after working on quality assurance for more than 25 different games. Although recently he’s been focusing on the new Forza Horizon that looks like it will blow racers’ socks off.

8 Gears Of War: Cliff Bleszinski

Gears of War has made over one billion dollars in revenue and sold well over 27 million copies. It’s one of the most successful Xbox franchises and is undeniably a fan favorite. One of the most influential people to help create Gears of War is a man named Cliff Bleszinski. He was the lead designer on the first three installments of Gears of War and is thought to have expressed an interest in advising the next team in the newest games in the series.

Again, there are so many important names that were a part of making Gears of War as popular as you know it to be. That being said, Cliff Bleszinski is one of the main people responsible for this amazing series looking the way it does.

7 Fable: Peter Molyneux

Although he doesn’t work for Microsoft anymore, Peter Molyneux is one of the most influential people behind the legendary franchise Fable. He worked for Lionhead Studios and was the designer of the first Fable in 2004 and Fable: The Lost Chapters in 2005. He then went on to be the lead designer of the next two Fable games and worked as the creative consultant for Fable: The Journey in 2012.

Ultimately, Peter Molyneux is an extremely important part of the Fable franchise and really made it the brilliant series it is. Many people made this loved franchise what it is, but Peter Molyneux’s vision and skills made Fable the amazing work of art gamers see it as now.

6 Flight Simulator: Bruce Artwick

Bruce Artwick is just like Flight Simulator, in that he is unlike any other. He is perhaps one of the most influential people in this franchise since he was actually the first man to release a version of Flight Simulator in 1979. It was part of his thesis during his time at the University of Illinois and took off from there after creating the gaming company Sublogic in 1977.

Ultimately, Bruce Artwick is the creator of Flight Simulator and continues to be the main inspiration for its updates. It’s one of the longest-running Microsoft games and everyone has Bruce Artwick to thank.

5 Ori: Chris McEntee

The Ori franchise is one filled with entrancing beauty, undying love, and wonderful gameplay. While fans have many many people to thank for this wonderful franchise, lead designer Chris McEntee is a pretty good place to start.

While Ori isn’t exactly the longest-serving game franchise Xbox has to offer, it’s undeniably influential and a fan favorite. So who better to head the creation than Chris McEntee? Especially after being the content director and lead designer of Rayman and Origins. Ultimately, Chris McEntee headed Ori And The Will Of The Wisps and is one of the main people behind this wonderful game.

4 State Of Decay: Richard Foge

While a smaller series, State of Decay and its sequel are some of the best zombie games out there and the franchise is undeniably a huge part of Xbox’s future. For this franchise, you need a figure who is great at creating games but even better at talking about them and promoting them. Ultimately, Richard Foge is the face of the State of Decay franchise.

Foge hasn’t developed or designed hundreds of games but he’s played a key part in every State of Decay showing just how much he’s involved. When you think of State of Decay and the aspects you love about it, it’s almost guaranteed Richard Foge had something to do with it.

3 Crackdown: David Jones

If you thought David Jones hit his peak with his founding of Realtime Worlds in 2002 then you’re missing so much. David Jones and Realtime Worlds went on to develop and create Crackdown. At 25, Jones had released Lemmings and won European Game of the Year twice. He then created Grand Theft Auto and continued being a huge success!

Ultimately, there was no better person to direct Crackdown than David Jones. He served as the Creative Director for Crackdown 3 and developed the original Crackdown, making it what it is today.

2 Age Of Empires: Bruce Shelley

Similar to David Jones, Bruce Shelley made his fame through the creation of Civilization along with Sid Meier. However, after working for MicroProse, he joined Ensemble Studios. With this move, he brought his lessons learned from Civilization and began to lead the development of the Age Of Empires series.

Along with designers Brian Reynolds and Dave Pottinger, Bruce Shelley created one of the biggest Xbox and Microsoft franchises. Starting in 1997, Age of Empires wasn’t originally an Xbox series, but the franchise is now part of the brand’s family.

1 Otogi: Daisuke Satake

A pretty famous artist and game designer named Daisuke Satake was the lead designer for 2002’s Otogi: Myth of Demons. He headed the design of the game and made it the wonderful franchise everyone knows and loved.

Hopefully, a new one makes an appearance but it seems a little unlikely since Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors came out in 2003. Daisuke Satake was the conceptual art designer of that one. He also became a concept artist on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Dark Souls.

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