Jonathan Knight takes expanded chief games officer role at The New York Times

• Knight has been with The New York Times since September 2020.
• He previously served as SVP and Head of Games at The New York Times.
• At Warner Bros. Games, he led more than 100 developers on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

Jonathan Knight has taken on the expanded role of chief games officer at The New York Times, continuing his leadership of the publication’s games operation.

Knight took to LinkedIn to share news of the move, saying he was grateful for the continued opportunity to support the publication and its mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Since joining The New York Times in September 2020, Knight has led its games operation and overseen its expansion, including the acquisition and integration of Wordle in 2022. 

He also created and launched Crossplay, the publication’s first two-player competitive word game, which reached No. 1 on the Top Free Games chart. 

His role has included managing the P&L and publishing pipeline for daily games including The New York Times Crossword, Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands and Pips. 

Track record 

Before joining NYT, he spent more than two decades in the games industry, holding senior roles across Electronic Arts, Zynga and Warner Bros. Games. 

At Warner Bros. Games, Knight served as VP and studio head in San Francisco, where he led more than 100 developers working on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and launched DC Legends.

Previously, as SVP of games at Zynga, he led the Ville and With Friends divisions, overseeing more than 300 employees. His work included launching New Words With Friends and bringing FarmVille to mobile.

Knight spent more than nine years at EA as VP and Executive Producer, working across The Sims and The Simpsons Game, as well as serving as executive producer and director for Dante's Inferno.

He began his career at Activision, where he produced titles including Return to Castle Wolfenstein.