Relic Entertainment appoints Heidi Eaves as its new COO

Relic Entertainment has appointed Heidi Eaves as its new chief operating officer.

Prior to joining the Vancouver studio, Eaves had been at consulting company Project House Workplace Solutions, in which she assisted companies across a range of HR and professional services, including Relic Entertainment. Before then, Eaves worked at Electronic Arts Canada and Radical Entertainment.

"Finding the right appointment for the COO position was critical for us in continuing on our journey to becoming a destination studio both by releasing great games and nurturing incredible talent," said Relic studio director, Justin Dowdeswell. "We needed someone who could impact the way we make games and the way we run the studio and Heidi, who has been at the studio working with the Talent Team for a few months, has already had a huge impact on the studio and our teams. She is exactly the right person to help us continue moving forward."

Eaves’ new role will see her develop a new project review process and staff growth and retention amongst other duties (thanks, GI.biz).

Relic – which is owned by Sega – is an award-winning developer of "genre-defining real-time strategy games" like Homeworld, Dawn of War, and Company of Heroes. The 17-year studio prides itself on being "different from most others", stating it "values ideas and innovation so every game we create is a true reflection of our entire teams’ capabilities. We believe in the autonomous, entrepreneurial spirit of an indie developer – only with the extensive resources of a large publisher". The studio insists Sega provides it with "the autonomy and creative control needed to preserve the integrity of the gaming experience, from the concept stage right through to final development".