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Lucasfilm, Microsoft, Kojima Games Execs Top Variety’s Entertainment Gaming Leaders List

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November 21, 2024

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Lucasfilm, Microsoft, Kojima Games Execs Top Variety’s Entertainment Gaming Leaders List

More than ever, gaming is a cornerstone of contemporary entertainment. It’s not just because other forms of media have adapted to its models, offering historically passive audiences new kinds of participation and interactivity. Gaming has precipitously increased in sophistication, created bigger and broader connections between its participants and, most of all, generated real and profound emotional investment in its outcomes — and not just the fury of watching one’s avatar fail to make it to the next level, or the exhilaration of beating a final boss. The Variety 10: Entertainment Gaming Leaders honors the individuals helping to build worlds, create narratives and make memories every time someone puts a controller in their hands.

Variety’s Entertainment Gaming Leaders encompass a wide spectrum of roles across the industry, from game development to platform building to multimedia adaptation. Each of them highlights accomplishments that are a little different than the others — not just games or companies but personal beliefs that evolve into professional goals. But all of them have been pivotal in an industry that offers its consumers an opportunity to be involved in storytelling in a way that remains unparalleled by any other medium.

Vicki Dobbs Beck

Image Credit: Courtesy of Joel Aron

Vice president, immersive content, Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm veteran Dobbs Beck considers “What If…? An Immersive Story,” which won a 2024 Emmy for outstanding innovation in emerging media programming, a highlight of her career. “It underscored our transition from storytelling, which is one-way communication, to ‘story living,’ where you’re making meaningful choices that drive the narrative forward,” she says. Looking for “a company whose product was inherently creative,” Dobbs Beck leveraged contacts at her alma mater, Stanford Business School, to land an entry-level marketing job at the visual effects and technology company (“I technically wrote the first ILM business plan”) before moving to Lucasfilm Learning and eventually ILM Immersive. With a constant focus on “best-in-class storytelling, then the highest quality visuals and sound, and finally, compelling interactivity,” Dobbs Beck says she encourages intrapreneurship to drive innovation at Lucasfilm. “I’m actually not a technologist. I’m not a game designer. But I really see the potential in things and then find the people that can come together in order to realize that vision.” — Todd Gilchrist
Matt Booty

Image Credit: Laurel McConnell

President, game content & studios, Microsoft Gaming

Booty oversees the entire studio apparatus within Microsoft Gaming’s Xbox, Mojang, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard publishers. From “Call of Duty” and “Starfield” to “Candy Crush” and “Pentiment,” Booty is responsible for a tremendous output of games big and small that will soon be joined by many more titles in development. That includes “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” in December, which will hit PlayStation 5 at a later date, as several Xbox catalog titles did earlier this year, marking a growing multiplatform push. “It’s really about reaching as many players as we can with great games,” Booty says. Many of these games have been in the works since Microsoft Gaming rapidly expanded — even before the pandemic — but Booty isn’t perturbed by the long pipelines. “We want to honor the fact that our craft has got as much art entertainment in it as it does science and technology,” he says. — Kaare Eriksen
Neil Druckmann

Image Credit: Credit: Luke Fontana

Studio Head & Head of Creative, Naughty Dog

One of Druckmann’s earliest video game memories is of his older brother bringing home a Pong machine. But it wasn’t until he discovered the point-and-click adventures from California-based publisher Sierra Games that he “felt that magic” that he would later try to reverse engineer in his work as head of Naughty Dog. One of Druckmann’s first projects with the company was “Jak 3” and he later went on to work as one of the lead developers on “The Last of Us.” Although he couldn’t spare any details, Druckmann says he and his team have something big coming on the horizon that marks the “most excited he has ever been” for a project. After directing an episode of the upcoming Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us,” Druckmann says that seeing the show come to life has been completely surreal — he has to “pinch himself” when standing on physical sets like Joel’s house. — Jack Dunn
Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter

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Co-founder, Hihi Studios

“When you’re a streamer for 10 years, you truly can’t fake it,” says Hofstetter about her vocation. “It’s unedited. It’s so unfiltered, it’s alive.” For the “100 Thieves” co-owner, games have always been an escape. Raised by an alcoholic father, Hofstetter would lock herself in her room and play games to drown out the noise in her household. During her teenage years, she worked at GameStop and became a Twitch streamer, which ultimately led to a YouTube contract. From there, Hofstetter has been featured in Vogue, appeared in music videos and starred in film and television projects such as “The Family Plan” and “Sonic Prime.” She also recently delved into the podcast space in addition to brokering a partnership between her company, Hihi Studios, and Global Comics. “Viewers get invested. They feel like they know you,” Hofstetter says. “It’s truly parasocial.” — Andrés Buenahora
Hideo Kojima

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Game creator, founder, Kojima Prods.

If video games have long been the underdog of the art world, Kojima is the medium’s biggest advocate. “My work is often regarded as being similar to a movie, but at the core, games are what I create,” says the author of “Metal Gear Solid” and “Death Stranding,” the latter of which’s next installment is due in 2025 through Sony’s PlayStation. In addition to developing multimedia action-espionage franchise “Physint” with Sony, Kojima is so immersed in the film world that his studio’s other project, Xbox’s “OD,” is a collaboration with horror maestro Jordan Peele. As for “Death Stranding,” its film adaptation marks A24’s first foray into gaming IP. Kojima is only collaborating in a supervisory role with the arthouse distributor, but he stresses: “I aim to present a new dimension of cinematic adaptation that goes beyond merely turning a game into a live-action movie.” — KE
Christian Linke

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Head of animation studio, Riot Games

“We always need to put the player experience first,” says Linke, showrunner of the hit Netflix series “Arcane.” “It’s important to make sure that our existing players are enjoying our storytelling with the characters they know and love, while also getting our newer fans excited.” Linke began his career as a composer in Germany, producing songs for a diverse slate of projects. In 2010, he made the transition to Riot Games as a data analyst, familiarizing himself with the core players in “League of Legends.” He later joined the team responsible for launching Vi and Jinx, two of the most popular League champions, who would go on to become the protagonists of “Arcane.” “I’ve been working on [‘Arcane’] for almost nine years now, and I’m so grateful for the incredible response from our players,” Linke says. “The fact that it’s ending feels surreal and bittersweet, but I’m looking forward to taking on new projects.” — AB
Holly Longdale

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VP, executive producer of “World of Warcraft,” Blizzard Entertainment

As “World of Warcraft” celebrates its 20th anniversary, executive producer Longdale credits the online game franchise’s loyal fanbase, success and staying power amid an ever-changing gaming industry on much more than herself. From her past work on “EverQuest” to her current duties with “WoW,” Longdale’s thoughtful understanding of online multiplayer gaming — most specifically the players themselves — has proven crucial to the success of both the franchises she’s worked on and her own professional path. Her mantra, “leave no player behind,” has driven content that resonates with new and long-time players alike. Having recently launched “WoW’s” Worldsoul Saga (a story arc that will span three expansions), Longdale is most excited for all players, old and new, to explore Azeroth in all its glory. “We have this incredible world in Azeroth that we want to share with everyone,” Longdale says. “‘Warcraft’ has so much whimsy, delight and creativity. We just want to grow and keep growing.” — Sharareh Drury
Laura Miele

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President, EA Entertainment

During her nearly 30 years at EA Entertainment, Miele played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s game development, maintaining the success of popular franchises like “FIFA,” “Madden” and “Battlefield.” Previously general manager of EA’s “Star Wars” business and senior vice president of global marketing, Miele prides herself on championing gender diversity and equality. “Being an advocate in the industry for representation of all people is important to me, both in games and in the workplace,” she says. “Our business and players benefit when we create expansive content that as many people as possible can see themselves in.” From organizing family game nights to leading EA as president, Miele measures her impact by empowering “thousands of incredibly talented, creative individuals” within a “dynamic industry.” Bullish about EA’s ever-expanding portfolio — which includes “The Sims,” soon celebrating its 25th anniversary — Miele says there is “tremendous opportunity to deliver exceptional experiences for our players.” — SD
Tim O’Brien

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Chief revenue officer, Scopely

“We are fortunate to work with exceptional partners like Hasbro, Mattel, Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. and more,” says O’Brien. “Our partnerships are long-term collaborations that aim to honor the legacy of beloved brands.” Mobile gaming accounts for half of the global video game market, and Scopely is one of its biggest players. After making several investments throughout the gaming space over the last few years, Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, part of the Kingdom’s sovereign Public Investment Fund, saw fit to acquire the mobile giant for just under $5 billion in 2023 after witnessing the company’s instant success with “Monopoly Go.” “The key for us is finding partners who want to create and maintain durable products and build big businesses together,” he says. “We create immersive live services where players engage with always evolving universes every day.” — KE
Sean Shoptaw

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Exec VP, Disney Games & Digital Entertainment

Riding high after launching a successful new collaboration with “Fortnite” developer Epic Games this spring, Shoptaw is proudest of helping games become a “strategic storytelling medium for the company.” A former Yahoo! Sports exec, Shoptaw currently oversees the company’s global games and digital entertainment teams, leading Disney to strong returns after his division shifted to a licensing model in 2016. Disney boss Bob Iger credits Shoptaw for demonstrating just how impactful games can be for the company by enticing players to become lifelong Disney fans. The company’s $1.5 billion investment with Epic is a cornerstone of its “next phase,” where Shoptaw aims to “build a platform rooted in games that brings all of Disney together in one connected universe.” As someone personally moved by the extent that gaming can impact people, Shoptaw says he’s thrilled to share that perspective with Disney leadership. “We see a future in converged entertainment, and we think Disney is uniquely positioned to play a meaningful role in that future.” — SD