Free-to-play specialist Tadhg Kelly joins Ouya

Former Jawfish creative director Tadhg Kelly has announced his appointment with Ouya.

Games Industry reports that Kelly’s departure from the former mobile games company was due to Jawfish’s transition into the casino space.

"Mobile has become incredibly difficult to crack without an immense bank balance because of the escalating costs of user acquisition, and the smart choice for Jawfish became to pivot into technology provision in the casino space," Kelly said.

"While wishing them all the luck in the world, that change didn’t make a lot of sense for me."

Kelly’s role at the microconsole maker will include acquiring games to improve the system’s catalog, as well as advising developers who would like to better incorporate free-to-play mechanics into their games.

He explained there are half-a-hundred million problems to overcome" regarding the general state of microconsoles, but added that he believes there’s huge potential to disrupt the traditional console market.

The hire takes place just ahead of Ouya’s launch in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Middle East later this month.