Xbox’s Toulouse Joins Gears of War Development Team

The former Director of Xbox Live Policy Enforcement at Microsoft has announced he's now calling the shots at Black Tusk Studios, the developer behind the next Gears of War title.

Stephen "Stepto" Toulouse has joined Black Tusk Studios and is going to be the team's gaming community representative. Toulouse previously represented Microsoft and Xbox Live and would formally discuss the policy and security issues of Xbox's online services in various forums. Toulouse's changes to Xbox's online policies promoted a positive environment on Xbox Live and was widely praised by the LGBT community for combating homophobia in gaming and allowing players to express their sexual orientations in their Gamertags and profiles. He was Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox Live until he parted ways with Microsoft in February 2012.

Toulouse has now become the Director of Community Engagement for Black Tusk Studios and will become the gaming community's representative and advocate to the company. He will likely be involved with many of Gears of War's social media feeds and its message boards, interacting with fans on a level similar to Phil Spencer but more frequently and in-tune with the COG community.