Turbine revs up with hiring spree

Turbine games has drawn an impressive hand of new talent with the hiring of Ken Rolston, Allan Villani, Jai Singh and Demetrius Comes.

The developers come to the company behind The Lord of The Rings Online from some of the most recognizsd studios in the business, and with decades of experience between them.

Rolston joins Turbine as head of design after a stellar run of over ten years at Bethesda as a lead designer on The Elder Scrolls games, but most recently worked at the now-defunct 38 Studios. He will be responsible for all aspects of game design from vision to implementation.

Villani is the vice president of technology, having been the driving force behind the tech that supported NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat. His role at Turbine is to oversee the digital tech platform that handles online engagement and monetisation.

Zynga’s tech infrastructure is notoriously robust, and Jai Singh was responsible for managing it. He will take charge of Turbine’s own infrastructure as executive director of technical operations.

Comes arrives as Turbine’s new executive director of engineering fresh from Petroglyph games, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the gaming, telecommunications and computer security industries.

"We are very excited to add such a stellar group of proven industry veterans to our world-class team here in Boston,” said Turbine’s general manager Alessandro Galvagni.

“Ken, Alan, Jai and Demetrius are proven leaders that strengthen our team and position us well as we work to continue operations of our award-winning titles and bring new innovative experiences to market.”