Following Jagex’s strongest year to date, including record players for its RuneScape titles, the launch of Old School RuneScape on mobile attracting more than five million installs, and the announcement of Jagex Partners, the company has further bolstered key teams with senior production, technology and publishing appointments.
Nathan Richardsson has been appointed Executive Producer of an unannounced online action role-playing game. Nathan has more than 15 years of experience in product development, having started his career at CCP Games where he worked on EVE, Dust and World of Darkness. In recent years he has held senior production roles at Trion Worlds working on the revolutionary game Defiance, before moving to Ubisoft Montreal, and then Behaviour Digital.
Nathan Richardsson, Executive Producer, said:
“Our primary focus will be setting up a strong leadership team and ensure we get those key hires in place, such as Product Director and Senior Product Marketing Manager. This project demands high-definition work, and I am already impressed with the passion, talent and commitment of the current team; combine this with the strength of our plans for the new game, and I am confident that we will have a very successful future.”
The title is being developed using Unreal Engine 4, which provides access to top-end tools, invaluable as Jagex continues its development of the game.
Nick Beliaeff, SVP Game Development, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Nathan to the Jagex team. He brings a wealth of industry experience to the role and a vast knowledge of working in Unreal Engine. We are always looking to employ highly skilled and experienced individuals capable of releasing Jagex’s goal of becoming the home of living games.”
Phil Mansell, CEO, Jagex said:
“Jagex continues to attract senior talent with deep industry experience to support our growth plans, and our vision to create truly living games. We’re continuing to increase investment in the RuneScape franchise, whilst developing exciting new games and building out our portfolio through Jagex Partners. With Nathan joining as Executive Producer, heading a vibrant and talented team, we’re seeing the foundations laid for an awesome online RPG.”
As Jagex continues to expand, the company has recently invested in a number of top hires with a wealth of industry experience from companies such as Riot, Amazon, Sony, Electronic Arts and NaturalMotion. Among these include Pete McKay who has joined as Director of Community, Agatha Bejan as Head of CRM and Player Engagement, Mitchell Goodwin as RuneScape Technical Director, and Alan Krause as Senior Director of Game Engineering.
Pete McKay, Director of Community
Jagex has appointed Pete McKay as Director of Community, following 10 years’ experience in the games industry that includes key community roles at CCP and Riot Games. McKay joins Jagex from Social Point where he served as Director of Social and Player Engagement. At Jagex, McKay will be the driving force behind the community engagement for the company’s existing and upcoming titles, as well as titles published by Jagex Partners.
Agatha Bejan, Head of CRM & Player Engagement
Agatha Bejan joins Jagex as Head of CRM and Player Engagement, following more than a decade of extensive marketing experience across the games industry with EA, Microsoft, and NaturalMotion. At Jagex, Agatha will be responsible for managing and growing Jagex’s player engagement strategy across the company’s games portfolio.
Mitchell Goodwin, RuneScape Technical Director
Mitchell Goodwin has joined as Technical Director for RuneScape. Mitchell is a games industry veteran with over 20 years of development and management experience. Starting his career as an engine programmer at Codemasters, Mitchell subsequently became a key figure at Sony’s London Studio, where – as Programming Lead and later Head of Development – he was instrumental in the creation of PlayStation Home. At Jagex, Mitchell will be working with the various RuneScape teams to help guide and support the game’s development, ensuring the service continues to grow and that new features are produced in-line with the business and team’s goals.
Alan Krause, Senior Director of Game Engineering
Alan Krause joins the Jagex family as Senior Director in Game Engineering following a career that included roles at Sony Online Entertainment, Trion Worlds, and Amazon. Krause’s responsibilities at Jagex will include sourcing and creating innovative products and services, with the aim of leading a technology revolution at Jagex.
To find out more about further career opportunities at Jagex, visit the studios careers portal, www.jagexcom/careers.
