Mick Giles appointment
Joins True Games as CTO as company HQ moves to Austin, Texas.
IRVINE, Calif., December 9, 2009 - True Games, an international publisher of multi-player online games, today announced that it has appointed Mick Giles as its new Chief Technology Officer. Giles brings more than 13 years of experience to the position having served in a variety of management roles at Electronic Arts, Turbine, Sony Online Entertainment and more. Giles specializes in Online Game Development & Deployment, Business Development, Managing Outsourced and Offshore Development efforts and Technology Invention and Development.
Most recently Giles served as Sr. Director of Online Operations for North America & Asia and Sr. Director of Technology for Worldwide Studios at Electronic Arts. In the roles there he led technology initiatives for as many as six AAA franchises for the company for 3 years. Prior to that, Giles served as Executive Director of Technology at Turbine, leading multiple core development, Operations, IT, and Business Development efforts for Asheron's Call, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Lord of the Rings Online MMO's. From 2003-2006, Giles served as Director of Platform Technology at Sony Online Entertainment where he led development and technology efforts on titles such as EverQuest, EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, Planetside and many others.
Prior to SOE, Giles had an earlier stint at EA, serving in technology roles at EA's Maxis and Pogo Studios where he managed the online platform development teams and determined the technical direction for games including The Sims Online, Motor City Online, Majestic, Harry Potter Online, and Earth & Beyond.
"Mick brings to the team an extensive background in technology, operations, platform management and more, and we look forward to adding his expertise to our management team," said Jeff Lujan, Founder and CEO of True Games Interactive. "With one live game in Warrior Epic and one game about to go into beta in Mytheon, as well as multiple games in development, his expertise and experience is a welcome addition to the team."
True Games has also decided to consolidate its two North American offices; moving its headquarters from Irvine, California to Austin, Texas where it started a game development studio earlier this year.
The company cites continued growth, stronger internal communication and a heavier focus on its game development, as well as an excellent talent pool in Austin as its reasons for the decision to base its headquarters there.
"Over the course of the year our company has changed from a publishing-only focus to one that includes a heavy emphasis on our game development," continued Lujan. "Bringing our North American staff together under one roof will allow us to grow and nurture our development process, while also providing synergies and complementary support to our development team in Beijing."
For more information about the company and its products visit www.truegames.com.
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About True Games Interactive
Based in Orange County, California, True Games Interactive is an international multi-player online game publisher. It was founded by a core team of MMO industry veterans with extensive experience in publishing and operating online games. True Games brings new and innovative development ideas online, delivers them with a state-of-the-art game platform, and leverages micro-transaction revenue models. True Games released its first game, Warrior Epic,
( www.warriorepic.com) in Spring 2009 and recently opened studios in Austin and Beijing, China.
They are working with world-class publishers to license existing online titles and world-class developers, including Petroglyph ( www.Mytheongame.com), to create games exclusively for online play.
UTV Software Communications Ltd (UTV), India's first integrated global media and entertainment company, holds a strategic stake in True Games Interactive.
About UTV Software Communications
UTV Software Communications Ltd (UTV) is India's first integrated global media and entertainment company. UTV India & its subsidiaries
(UTV) create, aggregate and disseminate content of various genres across varied distribution platforms. Its 5 business verticals include Content Production & Services, Movies, Broadcasting, Interactive Gaming, and New Media.
Listed on India's premier stock exchange, The Stock Exchange, Mumbai in addition to the Motion Pictures Subsidiary, UMP PLC is listed on the AIM London Stock Exchange. UTV is India's only diversified media and entertainment company with content creation abilities across platforms and genres.
It has subsidiaries with offices across India, Mauritius, UK, USA and Japan. Walt Disney holds a strategic stake in UTV.
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