Jagex announces trio of executive appointments

Jagex has announced a trio of executive appointments as the company focuses on growing their product and publishing operations.

The trio comprises of NCSOFT West SVP John Burns, hired as SVP publishing, NetEase veteran Cassia Curran who joins as head of business development and Neil McClarty, who was previously working for Jagex as a senior product director, has now been named as the company’s VP for product management.

The announcements come alongside the introduction of Runescape to mobile, with Jagex also looking to develop additional titles in the Runescape franchise for both Western and Eastern audiences.

Jagex’s CEO Phil Mansell said: “Jagex is moving forward with bold growth plans. Our ability to attract experienced industry talent such as John and Cassia, while also recognising the value that Neil has delivered for Jagex, is indicative of our acceleration as we strengthen the leadership of our publishing, product, and partnership teams.

“We are bolstering our portfolio with franchise extensions, including RuneScape and Old School on mobile, we have new franchise titles in production for both the Western and Eastern markets, and continue to explore external studio and product investment opportunities to complement Jagex’s long-held expertise in running living game worlds.”

Burns has 30 years of experience in packaged and online game publishing, and most recently was with NCSoft, leading Western publishing operations for the Korean games outfit. He’s also held senior roles at Trion Worlds, Electronic Arts and Activision.

Burns said: “Jagex is an industry leader in live games, recognised for the incredible rise of RuneScape, a passion for its players and its commitment to innovate. 2017 has been an exciting year for the company with the announcement that the RuneScape franchise will come to mobile for gamers to adventure anywhere at any time and a focussed portfolio expansion through product investment to deliver titles that will engage and excite fans globally. I am looking forward to being part of the Jagex team and helping further build on the historical success and accelerate the company.’’

McClarty has been with Jagex for a decade and this new role will see him leading the strategic growth on Jagex’s portfolio of live games. McClarty has lead several divisions inside the company, and has been hailed as part of the team that led a “renaissance” for the MMO in recent years.

Curran comes to Jagex after five years with NetEase in Hangzhou, where she was part of an effort to bring UK-developed mobile titles to the Chinese Market. At Jagex, Curran will be leading Jagex’s outreach to external studios and investment and partnership opportunities.

Cassia Curran, Head of Business Development, said: “With an enviable performance record in recent years driven by its success in Western territories, coupled with an open door to the Chinese market through its Shanghai-headquartered parent, Fu Kong Interactive, Jagex is perfectly placed to talk investment and partnership opportunities with studios.”