Xbox department head Robbie Bach and “Chief Experience Officer” J Allard are leaving Microsoft this autumn. The duo has seen the 360 grow to its current state, with J Allard being one of the leading figures in the system’s development. Allard has particularly come to prominence after the Xbox Live Marketplace currency was renamed in his honour by some leading websites including TheNPCs, where we pioneered its use for every Microsoft Point related story. He went on to feature in Space Giraffe in the first level of the game, entitled “The Eyes of Allard”. Allard will be leaving Microsoft after 19 years at the company, but will be still performing an “advisor” role to Steve Ballmer (no mean feat).

Robbie Bach will be leaving after 22 years for the company, and had this to say about leaving: “At Microsoft, I’ve been so fortunate to spend more than two decades of my life working with incredible people and doing amazing things like launching Office, Xbox and Xbox Live, the ‘Halo’ franchise, Windows Phones, Zune and more. I’m at the time in my life where I want to dedicate more time to my family and my non-profit work, including my work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.”

Don Mattrick (Senior Vice President of the Interactive Entertainment Business) and Andrew Lees (Senior Vice President of the Mobile Communications Business) will now be reporting directly to CEO Steve Ballmer.