Xbox Co-Creator Otto Berkes Leaves Microsoft

Xbox co-creator Otto Berkes has left Microsoft after 18 years of employment, for "a different set of challenges and something new and fresh." Berkes is the last of the four masterminds behind the original Xbox to leave the company. Last year, Microsoft saw one of the other co-creators, Kevin Bachus, join social networking site Bebo. The other original Xbox creators who are no longer with Microsoft are Ted Hase and Seamus Blackley. Talking to the Seattle Times, Berkes said he is leaving Microsoft to work at another company outside of the Seattle area, although he didn't specify where. He noted that he has resigned to try new challenges, rather than out of frustration at the Microsoft. Discussing a touchscreen slate device he prototyped back in 2005 -- which was later canned by Microsoft -- he said, "It's unfortunate you can't repeat that experiment... One of the outcomes of that effort was a change in thinking around Windows and the PC and touch interfaces and hardware evolution." In a tweet, Berkes noted, "Leaving Microsoft after 18 years isn't easy but I'm very excited about what's next!"