Ustwo Games expands its leadership team

Ustwo Games has appointed Maria Sayans as its new Chief Executive Officer. Dan Gray will assume the position of Chief Creative Officer, overseeing the output of the studio, whilst Peter Pashley has been appointed as Chief Development Officer.

Sayans – who was previously a board advisor to the company with 20+ years industry experience – will be responsible “for driving the studio’s continued growth and leading company strategy”. Pashley, who had previously been employed as the company’s technical director, will reportedly focus on “scaling the studio’s production and technical capabilities”.

Gray joined Ustwo games in 2013 as executive producer on the BAFTA award-winning Monument Valley. He is now directing ustwo games’ latest title, Repair, which will be launching on Apple Arcade, following his promotion from his previous position as head of studio.

“The games industry is going to change in the coming years, and we want to make sure our most talented and creative people have the space and freedom to focus on making great games,” said Sayans. “I was a fan of Monument Valley already, but it was seeing the projects the teams are working on, and getting to know the people, that made me fall in love with ustwo games. Exciting times are ahead!”

“Our unique approach to making games has produced truly memorable experiences for players over the years,” added Gray. “But we’ve never really formalised this process or even had a creative director. As the studio expands to make multiple games at once, I want to spend my time ensuring that we continue to make games with heart and personality.”

Every month, we pick the brain of an up-and-coming talent. March’s Rising Star Abigail Flores, who is a QA technician at Ustwo Games, highlighting the benefit of working collaboratively and talks about her ambitions of creating a game for people may not consider themselves interested in games.