WB Interactive Hires Madden Developer Co-Founder Steven Chiang To Lead Worldwide Studios

Warner Bros. Interactive has hired former Zynga studio president and co-founder of Madden developer Tiburon Studios Steven Chiang. Chiang will serve as executive vice president for worldwide production and studios, overseeing all core and free-to-play titles for the publisher.

The news comes just a month after the promotion of David Haddad to president of WB Interactive. Chiang will report to Haddad, covering all internal studios (like NetherRealm) and WB’s third-party development relationships. 

WB has been slowly entering the mobile, free-to-play space with games connected to its largest offerings. Card-based fighting games tied to Injustice: Gods Among Us and Mortal Kombat X are two examples of how the publisher is leveraging its core games and intellectual properties for the mobile market.

Chiang left Tiburon and EA in 2010, but not before releasing two of the most important sports games in EA history. FIFA 09 and Madden NFL 10 included Ultimate Team modes for the first time. Today, the in-game transaction-powered feature has spread to NHL and, soon, UFC.

Ultimate team continues to be a huge contributor to EA’s quarterly revenue. In the most recent quarter, the company noted gains of 64 percent year-over-year. 

Our Take
With Chiang’s background at EA and Zynga, he brings WB extensive experience in mobile, free-to-play, and in-game monetization. While not every publisher has the foundation to make something like Ultimate Team work, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see how WB might leverage that type of structure in a different setting.