Microsoft hired Jason Holtman, Valve's former director of business development, last summer to run the Redmond-based company's PC gaming and entertainment division. Talk at the time suggested this was just the boost that Microsoft needed to revive interest in PC gaming but apparently that relationship was short-lived.
It was recently discovered that Holtman is no longer working at Microsoft. According to his LinkedIn page, he left the company last month. The departure was also posted to his Facebook page and has since been confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson. The rep said Microsoft was grateful for his time at the company but didn't offer any explanation as to why he split after less than six months on the job.
What's more, it's unclear at this hour if the company has already hired a replacement, promoted an existing employee to fill the spot or eliminated the position altogether.
In a bit of related news, PC gaming site Rock, Paper, Shotgun recently posted an interview with Microsoft creative director Ken Lobb. In it, Lobb said Microsoft is still very dedicated to the PC gaming space and they have more support internally to support the PC side of things. The departure of Holtman, however, wasn't mentioned and could very well delay those plans.
Holtman worked with Valve for more than seven years and was instrumental in opening the Steam game download service to publishers and third-party developers.