The Gaming Exec Exodus

While it’s often hard to tell how the gaming market can do, we at TGD think this could be a strong year for games, even with the market’s often abrupt transition periods. And there may be more change in the air as gaming shifts from physical consoles to streaming.

As Cnbc reports, another sign of change in the air is that a number of executives have been leaving the business, and as Chris Morris reports, “the exodus started quietly earlier this year.” First Jack Tretteon, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, left his post, and he was with the company since 1995. 

Then Marc Whitten, who’s been with Xbox for 14 years, left as well, and hooked up with Sonos, a wireless audio company. Then Steve Carlin left Ubisoft to be a gaming exec at Facebook, and Jeff Brown left Electronic Arts. While people leave companies all the time, some think this could signal something in the gaming market. One source believes that with the technology being so progressive, it takes newer people to learn different skillsets as things change. 

As a source told Msnbc, “Many of the senior folks, who were comfortable in the box-based world are now trying to manage businesses that are radically different that what they grew up with.” And again, the business is moving more towards streaming and free to play, we wouldn’t be surprised if gaming one day becomes free of consoles altogether.