MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Football Manager studio Sports Interactive has named Matt Carroll as its first COO. Carroll is known primarily for a 17-year stint at Disney in a variety of senior management roles.
Reality Gaming Group, the London-based developer behind upcoming AR game Reality Clash has hired Anthony Bray as operations manager. Bray has over 20 years of experience in the games industry, starting at Sony in 1995 as project manager on titles for the PSOne.
Steel Media has promoted former deputy editor Ric Cowley to editor of PocketGamer.biz. He initially joined the team as staff writer in 2015. Steel Media also hired two new staff writers: Iain Harris has joined PocketGamer.biz, having worked as a freelancer for PCGamesN and VG247, and Louise Saul will work across all the company’s B2B websites, focusing on PCGamesInsider.biz. As a freelancer, she’s written for Vice, Nintendo Life and MyM Magazine.
Former marketing director at Curve Digital Alex Moyet has joined Activision as senior marketing manager. She commented: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Activision’s international marketing team to work on Destiny. With more expansions and features already announced for 2018, it’s sure to be a brilliant year for the franchise.”
Gearbox Software’s president Randy Pitchford has joined crowdfunding platform Fig’s advisory board, which already includes the likes of Obsidian’s CEO Feargus Urquhart, Double Fine’s president Tim Schafer and inXile Entertainment’s CEO Brian Fargo. Pitchford commented: “My expectation is that Gearbox Software and Gearbox Publishing can help inspire more developers to discover the Fig platform while also encouraging our audience of millions of gamers to become micro-investors or otherwise support their efforts.”
Neil Druckmann as been named vice president at Naughty Dog. He joined the Uncharted developer in 2004 as gameplay programmer, and worked his way up the ranks to designer, then lead game designer and creative director. Naughty Dog president Evan Wells said: “Druckmann has been a vital part of the management team for some time now and we’re proud to formally acknowledge his involvement. In addition to his new position, Neil will continue as the creative director on The Last of Us Part II.”
London-based mobile studio Hutch Games has made three new hires. Evyatar Amitay joins from Improbable as gameplay programmer on an unannounced project. Having worked in the South Korean games industry for six years, Esther Hong joins as UI designer. Last but not least, Chiao-Hsien Lin has been hired as customer and community specialist. She joins from Space Ape Games where she had been localisation, customer and community specialist for almost a year.
VG247 has a new deputy editor as Kirk McKeand has joined the publication. He previously was at PCGamesN, which he left in February this year to go freelance. VG247 editor-in-chief Matt Martin commented: “As I sit here inhaling the souls of broken game critics, I could not be happier that Kirk has joined Team VG247. Many wanted him, and I feel privileged he chose us to advance his career.”
QA and localisation specialist Testronic has opened a new office in Bangkok and has appointed Lily Gavin-Allen as the head of business development. Gavin-Allen has extensive experience in the area, particularly in biz dev and localisation. She said: “With the Asia market expanding into the western market, and vice versa, Testronic is perfectly positioned to provide a bridge between the two.”
The BBC’s diversity lead Joyce Adeluwoye-Adams has joined King’s London office as global director of diversity and inclusion. Before joining the BBC, she spent six years as head of diversity at PACT, the UK trade association representing indie feature film, television, digital, children’s and animation media companies.
Rice Digital’s editor Oscar Taylor-Kent will become games editor at Future’s Official PlayStation Magazine from April 9th. He commented: “As a lifelong magazine reader, I can’t wait to pivot to print and get stuck in alongside the already great Future and OPM team!”
