The Walt Disney Co. is building out its video game business, announcing new hires and promotions in its gaming division as it seeks to grow its presence in the space.
The newly-expanded executive ranks come just a couple of months after Disney announced a major deal with Epic Games in which it would invest $1.5 billion into the company and work to create a new gaming universe with Disney franchise IP.
Disney’s top gaming executive, Sean Shoptaw, has been promoted to executive VP of the division.
And the division is announcing two big new hires: Ray Gresko, who will be senior VP of product and development; and Bjorn Tornqvist, who will be VP of games technology. Gresko joins from Blizzard Entertainment where he developed games like Overwatch and Diablo III; while Tornqvist worked on the tech side at Ubisoft.
Meanwhile, Jay Ong, who has led the Marvel Games team for a decade, has been promoted to lead Disney’s global games licensing business. Haluk Mentes will succeed him as the head of the Marvel Games unit.
“Under the leadership of Sean and Jay, Disney’s games business is perfectly positioned to deliver world-class storytelling in this medium,” said Disney Consumer Products President Tasia Filippatos. “We’re grateful to every member of the Disney Games team who has contributed to our success, and who will help shape the future of this industry through genre-defining entertainment.”
