From the CEO of Sega to the President of Liverpool FC… Here’s the Story of the Best Head of the Xbox Division

“No need to show your passport; you’re the person who brought Shenmue to Xbox.”

This is what a security guard at Chicago Airport said to the man who:

1. Saved Sega from bankruptcy.

2. Helped revive Liverpool FC’s winning spirit.

3. Played a key role in popularizing free-to-play games at EA.

4. And most importantly, helped lay the foundation for the Xbox.

This is the story of 65-year-old businessman Peter Moore, written by me.

1. From Liverpool to Saving Sega

Born in Liverpool and holding an MBA, Peter Moore joined Sega and quickly rose to become the head of Sega America. He supervised the creation of the Dreamcast and its games. Despite its innovative features and strong game lineup, the Dreamcast struggled to compete with the PlayStation 2 and left Sega on the brink of bankruptcy.

Peter proposed a bold solution: stop Dreamcast production and transition Sega into a third-party developer. This plan saved the company.

2. From Sega to Revolutionizing Gaming in the West

In January 2003, Peter became the head of Xbox at Microsoft, thanks to his success at Sega. His vision was to make Xbox the spiritual successor to Sega. As a result, many Sega games became Xbox exclusives. But Peter knew this wasn’t enough to compete with PlayStation, which had strong exclusive games from third-party developers.

Instead of adopting Nintendo’s restrictive approach, Peter negotiated with developers, bringing titles like GTA, Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Devil May Cry to Xbox. These games not only became available on Xbox but often performed better on the console.

When launching the Xbox 360, Peter cleverly announced it had 256 MB of RAM, prompting Sony to match this for PlayStation 3. However, at launch, the Xbox 360 surprised everyone with 512 MB of RAM, enabling revolutionary features like Party Chat.

Thanks to Xbox’s powerful online network and iconic titles like Halo, which became a cultural phenomenon, the gaming industry began shifting towards online multiplayer games. Peter capitalized on this by forming partnerships with American developers, boosting the growth of Western studios over their Japanese counterparts.

For the first time, an Xbox console—Xbox 360—outperformed a PlayStation console in market competition.

Peter also knew how to grab attention. For new game announcements, he famously tattooed the game’s name on his arm and revealed it during live events.

Many gamers regard Peter Moore as the best Xbox leader, surpassing even Phil Spencer despite the latter’s significant resources.

3. From Microsoft to EA and Free-to-Play Games

In July 2007, Peter joined EA as the head of EA Sports. His success led to his promotion as the company’s second-most important executive in 2011. He embraced the free-to-play model, overseeing titles like Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Peter stayed with EA for several years, but he always dreamed of something more.

4. Achieving a Lifelong Dream and Returning Home

“Mohamed Salah is a valuable asset to the Premier League, enhances Liverpool’s position in the competition, and symbolizes diversity in a divided world,” Peter said at the Dubai Sports Conference.

In July 2017, Peter returned to Liverpool as the club’s CEO. Under his leadership, Liverpool won the Premier League, Club World Cup, and Champions League after years of absence. Peter attracted investors, improving the club’s finances and technical capabilities.

During his tenure, Peter founded a charity in Liverpool to combat poverty and support cancer research. In August 2020, he stepped down from Liverpool but didn’t retire. Instead, he returned to the gaming industry.

Peter Moore joined Nifty Games, a mobile game publisher, proving once again that his ambitions know no bounds ❤️.

Thanks for reading ❤️.