Two months after the former director of Xbox programming Larry Hryb — better known to fans of Microsoft's gaming ecosystem as Major Nelson — was laid off by Unity after serving as its director of community and advocacy for 18 months, he's announced that he's joined up with one of the most legendary brands in gaming history.
That brand is Commodore, which longtime gamers and tech enthusiasts will recognize as the company responsible for 1982's Commodore 64, or C64. To this day, it's the best-selling computer model of all time, with estimates placing sales between 12.5 and 17 million units; not only did it serve as a home computer, but it was also extremely popular for gaming, and supported games on floppy disks, cartridges, and even cassette tapes.
The original Commodore firm went bankrupt in 1994 due to mismanagement and fierce competition, though last year, Christian Simpson (Peri Fractic) of the Retro Recipes YouTube channel acquired the rights to the brand and has revived Commodore, and is soon shipping the Commodore 64 Ultimate — a remade version of the classic machine with some minimalist, yet modern upgrades (and an RGB version, if you're into that).
The new Commodore is celebrating the legacy of the brand while simultaneously looking into ways to develop new things for its community, and has brought Major Nelson onto its team as a community development advisor for his expertise and experience after he helped build, nurture, and support the Xbox fan base for nearly 20 years.
"I've always believed the best thing a company can do is partner with its community — and with a passionate fan base carrying the torch for 31 years, Commodore’s situation is truly unique when it comes to community engagement," Hryb said in a statement. "The community didn't wait around – instead they built something remarkable. Players, hardware hobbyists, developers, content creators, and publishers are all a part of the Commodore community, and now we get to build what’s next together."
Posted by ControlCAD
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I have a suspicion he’s been working out the details to get himself back in the game at Xbox. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was back at MS as soon as this summer. My understanding is he still spends a lot of time physically on campus.