Disney Interactive hires new management following layoffs
Adam Sussman joins as senior VP of publishing from EA Mobile
Disney Interactive has signed Adam Sussman as its new senior vice president of publishing from EA Mobile, just one day after announcing a swathe of lay-offs across its staff, and less than a week after mothballing Vancouver studio Propaganda.
Sussman's tenure at EA has been something of a success, increasing the company's status and presence on the App store and Android market. Prior to his role he worked with THQ as a general manager and at Disney up until 2005, where he concocted new strategies for digital business.
Disney has been enacting a policy shift in its attitude to the games market in recent months, a process which began with the purchase of social game publisher Playdom in July, 2010 for $763 million, which was followed by the resignation of Disney Interactive Media Group president Steve Wadsworth in September.
Wadsworth's departure brought about the appointment of John Pleasants, the former CEO of Playdom, to the role. Since then, a definite change of focus has followed, with Disney shrinking its workforce in the traditional core market and redoubling efforts in casual and social gaming.
A report yesterday revealed that up to fifty per cent of Disney Interactive's staff had been cut, including those from Junction Point, the Warren Spector-run developer behind Epic Mickey.