Game Creator Ecosystem Journey
Defining a clear, end-to-end ecosystem vision that aligned Xbox tools, teams, and product architecture through a single strategic journey framework.
I led the design vision for Xbox's Game Creator Ecosystem, using the creator journey to bring structure and clarity to a previously opaque distribution landscape. By mapping how creators actually work, I defined how each tool fits within the broader game-creation process and produced strategic, visualized scenarios that shaped the roadmap for a unified, multi-endpoint ecosystem—one where creators can build once and reach every Xbox surface.
Challenge
Fragmented tools, hidden friction
Xbox's game distribution workflow spanned many disconnected tools. No one had mapped how these tools interacted or how creators experienced them end-to-end. This fragmentation hid systemic friction and made it nearly impossible for teams to build toward a shared future.
Synthesis
Unified journey, clear roles
I synthesized existing user research into a single, composite creator journey. This unified map showed how integration, publishing, build, and live ops workflows interlock—surfacing gaps, overlaps, and missing connective tissue. Most importantly, it clarified the role each tool should play in the ecosystem and revealed where creators lacked continuity, guidance, or visibility. This journey became the anchor for strategy, planning, and cross-team alignment across Xbox.
Alignment
Shared language, shared direction
Once the journey made the ecosystem legible, My manager/creator director and I socialized it widely. It served as the shared language needed for disparate groups to evaluate their part of the ecosystem and understand where their work fits in service of creators.
Solution
Blueprinting the game creator lifecycle
With the journey as the backbone, I defined north-star scenarios, vision concepts, and future architecture that illustrated how creators should move fluidly across the ecosystem. This includes integrating game services, packaging builds, testing with AI assistance, targeting audiences, publishing stores, and managing titles across all Xbox endpoints. These scenarios transformed abstract strategy into tangible futures, enabling leadership to see how Xbox could support a universal “creator lifecycle” with a consistent, intelligent toolchain.
Outcome
Canonical framework, accelerated decisions
The framework sparked the Publishing Horizon 2+ workstream and shaped its strategic direction across organizations, becoming the canonical reference for understanding creator workflows. It aligned principal PMs and partner teams around shared artifacts and priorities, influenced long-term product architecture for the creator ecosystem, and equipped leadership with a clear, actionable vision for multi-endpoint creation that accelerated alignment and decision-making.
Takeaways
Artifacts that align the ecosystem
The work reaffirmed that design leadership makes the invisible visible by mapping the creator journey in a way that unifies scattered teams, exposes systemic friction, and reveals strategic opportunities. Clear artifacts—spanning journeys, architectures, and future scenarios—created the connective tissue that aligned the ecosystem and generated forward momentum.
