Skybound Games, a division of The Walking Dead company Skybound Entertainment, has appointed former Activision Blizzard executive Chris Paulson as EVP and general manager of games publishing.
Los Angeles-based Skybound Games has published titles like Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Before Your Eyes and Invincible Presents: Atom Eve. Skybound Entertainment is the cross-media company started by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.
And now Paulson will lead the commercial strategy and go-to-market efforts for Skybound’s ambitious slate of upcoming games.
Paulson’s decade long career in games publishing at Activision Blizzard spanned more than a dozen launches including record-breaking game launches for Diablo IV, which delivered $666 million in the games’ first five days; Diablo Immortal, the biggest launch in the franchise’s history with 10 million installs in the first week; and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the fastest selling PC game of all time (3.7 million launch day copies).
Joining during a time of notable executive growth for Skybound (the company recently announced former Electronic Arts executive Jeff Chaiken has joined as SVP of Corporate Development & Strategy), Paulson will lead Skybound Game’s growth efforts including slate strategy, global marketing, and commercial execution. Additionally, he will activate the commercial launch of a new product from Skybound Games, which has been developing in stealth mode since last year.
“I am humbled and excited to join a company with such a rich history of creating fandom through compelling storytelling and world creation,” Paulson said in a statement. “Skybound’s legacy speaks for itself, and I can’t wait to collaborate with our talented development teams and build the publishing team to bring incredibly fun gaming experiences in those worlds to millions of fans. I’m especially excited about the secret project the team has already been working on; I can’t wait to help bring this exceptional game to the world.”
David Alpert, CEO of Skybound, said in a statement, “With Chris’ remarkable track record in launching successful games, his strong leadership abilities, and his strategic approach to publishing, we are confident that he will elevate our iconic Skybound IP, delivering an exceptional experience to not only our fans, but entirely new audiences, in our new venture.”
Paulson cut his teeth in games at Blizzard leading the franchise finance team and began his career at Activision Blizzard as the chief of staff to the CEO. Before Activision Blizzard, Paulson was an associate partner at McKinsey and Company.
In other news, Skybound on Friday launched Invincible: Doc Seismic Attacks, a new free-to-play multiplayer experience from Skybound Games and independent developer House of How.
The game debuted on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. In the game, you team up with your friends in the Invincible universe in this PvE squad-shooter spectacle for up to six players, delivering the most robust narrative experience built within Fortnite.
Doc Seismic Attacks aims to boost the production values for Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) Creative Mode experiences.