DIgital Extremes CEO James Schmalz has announced that he has left the role, with chief creative officer Steve Sinclair stepping into the position.

Schmalz founded digital extremes in 1993, and since then the company has emerged as a major name in the games space. Despite stepping down, Schmalz will remain on the company’s board of directors.

“It’s been a long journey from Epic Pinball to Soulframe,” said Schmalz. “I feel immensely privileged to have been able to play my part in shaping our industry; building our stellar team has been a fulfilling life work. I feel in Steve we have the ideal leader to take us and our growing community of players into a new era and can’t wait to see what can be accomplished under his leadership.”

Under new management

New CEO Steve Sinclair has been with the company for 24 years, during which time he led the development of the company’s hit game Warfare, which has over 75 million registered users and recently celebrated 10 years on the market. Sinclair is currently leading the development of MMORPG Soulframe alongside creative director Geoff Crookes, which he will continue to do in his new role.

“I’d like to join the rest of the DE team and our community in thanking James for all he’s done,” said Sinclair. “James saying ‘yes’ to Warframe in 2012 and boldly committing to making it work changed the trajectory of our company. James believed - and continues to believe - in our team when no one else would, and established one of the most community-oriented and player-focused studios in the world,

“Making great games with a team that values a culture of positivity, dignity, and high performance is our goal. I’m humbled and nervous to lead this amazing company; for now I’ll throw my Lunaro 2 notes in the trash so we can remain focused on our commitment to surprise and delight audiences around the world.”

In August, Digital Extremes announced that Warframe will be coming to Apple devices next year.