Sweden-based game software studio Stillfront has named Victoria鈥檚 Clayton Stark its group chief technology officer and a member of its executive management team. Stark, currently chief executive of Victoria-based Kixeye, will retain his position as head of the gaming studio.聽
Stillfront purchased Kixeye last year in a deal worth $120 million US. At the time, the deal made Victoria the centre of the Kixeye world with additional development centres in the U.S., Vietnam and Australia.
鈥淲e have shared exciting opportunities since Kixeye joined the group and Clayton has already contributed with his vast experience from the industry and his deep knowledge within technology and operations,鈥� said Stillfront chief executive J枚rgen Larsson.
Stark said he was honoured to be part of Stillfront鈥檚 executive team, which has assembled a deep talent pool all over the world to make great games.
鈥淜ixeye has long been international, as while we are headquartered in Victoria, we have studios in Vietnam, Australia and the U.S.,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e are used to working across borders and continents, and the team here in Victoria will continue to have more opportunities to collaborate and grow 鈥� even more so now that we are closely connected across the Stillfront family.鈥�
Stillfront said the chief technology officer will establish a central technology strategy for the entire group.
鈥淲hile Stillfront鈥檚 studios continue to operate semi-autonomously, a platform of shared services will be available for implementation across the group with focus on security and efficiency,鈥� said Larsson. 鈥淓stablishing this new role is an important step to further accelerate synergies and develop Stillfront.鈥�
Stillfront is a global conglomerate of gaming studios focused on free-to-play online strategy games.
The company has been selective in adding new studios to its portfolio, which includes Imperia Online, Dorado Games and Playa Games. Despite evaluating more than 1,200 companies, it has closed only 11 acquisitions over the last nine years.
