Chris Metzen, who spent nearly a decade at Blizzard Entertainment from 1993 – 2016 as SVP story and franchise development working on such IPs as Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft, made his triumphant return this week. Metzen will lead efforts on helping to shape the future of World of Warcraft, eventually expanding his role to include other major Blizzard IPs.
Meanwhile, legendary game developer and programmer John Carmack has completely separated himself from Meta; Carmack, who founded Id Software and created such mega-hits as Castle Wolfenstein, DOOM, and Quake, was serving in a part-time chief technology officer advisory role, announced this week that he has completely separated himself from Meta to focus on his new company Keen Ventures. The reasons for leaving completely are not all that complicated: he felt like the people at the top of Meta were not listening to his advice on VR and the metaverse and making less-than-optimal decisions. When a shape is sinking you either get on the lifeboat or go down with it. You can read more about that whole ordeal here.
People on the Move
Here is this week’s list of promotions, hires, and departures in the gaming/esports industry:
Esports:
Former XSET Design Director Zachary Azzara and Head of Social Nate Schanker join Marco Mereu’s new organization, M80.
Firasat Durrani and Chetan Dhembre are named co-founders of Indian live game streaming platform Loco.
PK Graff joins Ghost Gaming as director of Ghost Gaming Academy.
Gabriel Aigner will take on the role of social media specialist at Razer in January 2023.
Devlin Nipper is promoted to esports operations manager at Grilla.
Garrett Egan is no longer the director of training at FITGMR and is looking for new opportunities–he previously worked at Cloud9 as director of training.
Victor Banor is promoted to QA manager for Valorant at Riot Games.
Gaming:
Riot Games appoints former Disney exec Cristina Fiumara to the role of global head of animation content development for film & TV.
Victor Acosta exits Snap to join Activision Blizzard as associate director of digital marketing, with a focus on the Call of Duty franchise.
Hunter Bulkeley leaves Tilting Point to join Sledgehammer Games as its new lead project manager to lead Call of Duty live operations for an upcoming release.
Dylan Gafner leaves his role as senior community manager at Bungie.
Andy Lunique joins Bungie as director of creator marketing.
Daniël van Es is promoted to the role of product manager at Lucky Kat Studios.
Mae Morrison is promoted to senior influencer manager at Behaviour Interactive.
Samantha Santana joins Electronic Arts as its new senior internal communications and experience specialist.
Jerome Dureau is promoted to the role of corporate development manager at Bandai Namco Europe.
George Osborn leaves game industry trade group UKIE after more than three years serving as head of campaigns and communications.
Bethany Gwinn joins Electronic Arts as its new senior lead of global social media.
Stephen Saiz leaves Amazon Games after more than six years, most recently serving as senior head of growth & partnerships.
Jesse Ryckman exits Roblox to join Mattel as its new business development manager.
Other:
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker will take on the role of NCAA president in January.
Jennifer Orris is promoted to manager of media partnerships at the NBA.
Ashley Atwell is promoted to associate VP of NBA Social at the NBA.
Evans Adonis leaves Florida State University to join the Jacksonville Jaguars as its new senior director of corporate partnerships.
Martin Kon leaves his CFO role at YouTube to join Cohere.
Dean Stoyer leaves the Phoenix Suns to join Trackhouse Entertainment Group as chief brand officer.
Matthew Reynolds leaves his role as managing editor at Eurogamer.
Alexander Lee is promoted to senior gaming and esports reporter at Digiday.
Allen Zhao exits the Washington Wizards to join Madison Square Garden Sports as its new senior coordinator of digital content.
Zoé Chopra is promoted to senior commercial business intelligence executive at Formula 1.
Allen Zhao exits the Washington Wizards to join Madison Square Garden Sports as its new senior coordinator of digital content.
Zoé Chopra is promoted to senior commercial business intelligence executive at Formula 1.
In Other News…
💰 Esports brings big money to the local economy of a major European city.
🔍 U.S. Lawmakers take aim at online harassment in online gaming.
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James Fudge
With a career spanning over two decades in the esports and gaming journalism landscape, James Fudge stands as a seasoned veteran and a pivotal figure in the evolution of esports media. His journey began in 1997 at Game-Wire / Avault, where he curated gaming and community news, laying the groundwork for his expertise in the field.
In his more recent roles, James cemented his status as an authority in the esports business sphere as Senior Editor Esports at Sports Business Journal and The Esports Observer between 2018 and 2021.
