Ex-Xbox exec Larry Hryb 'Major Nelson' just joined this legendary gaming brand, but he says it's not his "full time gig" — "I am still working on that"

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."

Simpson also weighed in on the pickup, admiring Major Nelson's achievements at Xbox: “Through blogs, podcasts, social media, and events, Larry pioneered direct communication with players long before that kind of engagement became standard across the industry."

"Bringing Larry in to help support continued engagement with the fans that kept Commodore alive while also welcoming a new generation of fans is a natural next step for us in rebooting the brand," he added.

Notably, Major Nelson clarified on social media that he's strictly playing an advisory role at Commodore, and that this new position is not his "full time gig." Presently, he doesn't have one, at least publicly; however, he says he's "still working on that."

After he recently suggested that the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma should focus on partnering with the Xbox community and then met up with her in-person and posted about it on social media, many believe he could be returning to Xbox after his original departure from Microsoft in 2023 to "take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career."

Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not Major Nelson actually does come back to Microsoft and Xbox, but it's an exciting possibility. And even if he doesn't, it's pretty cool to see him contributing to the revival of one of retro gaming's fan-favorite brands.

🗨️ Will Major Nelson will return to Xbox?

It's awesome to see Major Nelson join the team bringing Commodore back, but the fact it's not his "full time gig" begs the question: is he returning to Xbox? It seems very possible, but hasn't been confirmed in any way, so I'm curious to hear what you think.

Let me know if you think he's coming back to Xbox in the comments, and make sure to vote in our poll below as well:

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