MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Here are the highlights from the recent industry hires and moves, as published in MCV/DEVELOP’s February issue.
After seven questionable years at Indigo Pearl (his words, not ours), Robbie Paterson has joined Devolver Digital as their new marketing manager. Paterson stated: “I’ll miss everyone at Indigo Pearl, but I feel lucky to have made such brilliant friends. Please keep being nice to them all, they’re the best!”
Ric Cowley is the new editor of PocketGamer.biz. Cowley has been in the industry for four years, having previously worked as PocketGamer’s news editor. “It’s great having Ric back on board,” said Dave Bradley, COO of PocketGamer.biz publisher Steel Media. “Mobile is the most interesting space in the games scene at the moment and few people know it like Ric.”
Sumo Digital have appointed Kirstin Whittle as their new partnerships director, within the business development team. Whittle stated: “I’ve followed and admired Sumo Digital for many years, so to now be part of such a talented and progressive group of studios is amazing. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work alongside the brilliant leadership team to help shape and support strategic plans.”
Kwalee has a new head of publishing in the form of Simon Prytherch, who previously worked with CEO David Darling at Codemasters on titles such as LMA Manager, and Pete Sampras Tennis. Prytherch stated: “I’m thrilled to be joining Kwalee and in turn, re-joining colleagues such as David, Jason and many others at such an exciting time in the business. The company had a brilliant 2019, and with Kwalee’s expertise, there’s a great opportunity to grow the publishing department. I’m looking forward to working with developers from around the world and recruiting a world-class team.”
Damian Burns has joined Twitch as its first ever EMEA MD. Burns joins after five years at Facebook, where he was senior director of gaming EMEA. Sara Clemens, chief operating officer at Twitch stated: “Damian’s deep experience in digital advertising, gaming and community services make him the ideal partner to help realize the potential of multiplayer entertainment. Damian brings over 20 years of expertise working with media partners, agencies and content communities.”
Dual Universe developer Novaquark has hired Högni Gylfason as their chief technology officer. Gylfason was technical director at CCP, where he lead the DevOps team and implemented games-as-a-service cloud solutions for EVE Online.
Leeds-based developer Cooperative Innovations has added three new hires. Alex Earle has joined as the new community manager, focusing on launching and supporting Spaceteam VR. Earle has been in the games industry for over two years now, largely working freelance for PR and events across Europe representing companies such as Nintendo, Payload Studios/Tentacle Zone
and Muse Games.
Also, Dave Price has joined as the new game designer. Previously, Price was a junior designer at JAW (Just Add Water), working on Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure.
Finally, Marian Felix joins as the new office manager. Felix graduated from the University of Hull with a Law and Business degree last July, and is currently undergoing her LPC training.
After a record-breaking 2019, Jagex has added six new hires to the studio. David Bamberger has been appointed as the new head of product marketing for RuneScape. Bamberger previously worked at Tencent America as marketing manager for PUBG Mobile. Alongside David, Ouni Kwon has joined Jagex’s publishing powerhouse as head of product marketing for Old School RuneScape. Ouni spent nine years at Wargaming, where he worked on World of Tanks, and Total War: Arena.
Joeyray Hall has joined Jagex in the new role of creative services director, having spent 23 years at Blizzard Entertainment.
Mike Donatelli has joined as product director of Old School RuneScape and previously worked on products such as Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online and Wildstar.
Stewart Stanbury joins as director of business development, having previously worked with clients including Adobe, Dell, Ubisoft, EA and Rockstar.
Anna Mostyn-Williams has joined Jagex as director of publishing partnerships. Williams has worked for brands such as Discovery Communications and Quantic Dream, as well as launching two technology start-ups. Williams will be leading on Jagex’s outreach and relationships with platform, distribution and marketing partners.
