The Microsoft employee who tweeted that those against always-on functionality needed to “get over it” has left the company.

The departure of Microsoft Game Studios creative director Adam Orth was confirmed by Polygon sources this morning, although it isn’t clear whether he jumped or was pushed.

"We do not comment on private personnel matters," said a Microsoft spokesperson.

Last week Orth triggered a storm of anti-Microsoft tweets and blog posts when he tweeted: "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console", and "Every device now is 'always on.' That's the world we live in #dealwithit”.

"We are aware of the comments made by an employee on Twitter. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views are not reflective of those of the company," said Microsoft in response.

An official apology then came from Xbox Live community manager Larry Hyrb.

“We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter," he said.

Microsoft has remained tight-lipped on whether its upcoming Xbox console will require an Internet connection to function.