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Rumble Entertainment snaps up 2 former Zynga design directors

Looking to drive F2P business

Rumble Entertainment snaps up 2 former Zynga design directors
Cross-platform free-to-play specialist Rumble Entertainment has announced the appointment of two Zynga veterans to its team – Brian Schneider and Steve Desilets.

Schneider previously served as a director or design as Zynga – working on titles such as CityVille and Treasure Isle – and before that, he worked as a lead game designer for Wizards of the Coast.

At Rumble Entertainment, Schneider will form part of the company's executive team and be tasked with managing the retention and monetisation strategy for the company's portfolio of games.

Let's get ready to rumble

Steve Desilets also worked as a design director at Zynga, a role which saw him developing new IP for the company's mobile division. Desilets' career in game design also includes stints at Electronic Arts and Valve, where he worked on projects such as Half Life 2: Episode 2.

Exactly what role Desilets will step into is not made clear in Rumble Entertainment's announcement, although the company states that he'll be working alongside co-founder John Yoo to "create immersive and irresistible experiences for Rumble's players."

It's worth noting that Yoo is also a former employee of Zynga, and during his time at the social gaming company he worked as senior game designer on CityVille.

Redefinition

"At Rumble, we are in pursuit of redefining the games experience on digital platforms," explained the company's founder and CEO Greg Richardson.

"Brian's track record of successfully engaging customers across different types of microtransaction games and Steve's raw creativity will further our mission of creating the world's best free-to-play games."

You can find out more about Rumble Entertainment – including its publishing activities and forthcoming browser-based cross-platform effort King's Road – on the company's website.
Staff Writer

PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013