Casey Hudson joins Microsoft Studios as creative director

Microsoft HoloLens Family Room RGB

Long-time BioWare veteran Casey Hudson, best known as the project director on the Mass Effect trilogy, has become creative director at Microsoft Studios. His primary focus at Microsoft will be on the HoloLens, an augmented reality headset announced earlier this year that will work with a special platform included in Windows 10, called Windows Holographic.

"I am extremely passionate about the potential of this kind of technology, as anyone who’s talked with me over the last couple of years can attest," Hudson told Xbox Wire. "I feel that the work being done at Microsoft on mixed reality and holographic computing will have a tremendous impact on how all of us interact with technology in the coming years."

Hudson will also be working on new Xbox games, and "involved in driving a creative focus for Xbox and Windows gaming." But he said the opportunity to work on HoloLens is what has him particularly excited.

"I was fortunate to try an early prototype of HoloLens before it was announced, and I was blown away by the technology and what it was already capable of," he said, describing experiences like walking on Mars while drinking coffee in an office setting or skyping with a friend who could draw on his walls. "These first experiences cemented my belief that holographic computing was where I needed to be. There’s no end to the potential of this technology, and I look forward to being able to influence the full-spectrum experience on HoloLens, from hardware to OS, to applications and games."

Find out what we thought of the HoloLens in our hands-on session from January.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.