SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kabam, the leader in the western world for free-to-play games for traditional players, today announced that it has hired game industry and digital media veteran Chris Petrovic as head of corporate development.
In his new role, Petrovic will oversee the company’s mergers and acquisitions, driving Kabam’s strategy of accelerating growth through larger and more transformative acquisitions. Additionally, Petrovic will manage Kabam’s robust relationships with Hollywood studios including Universal and Warner Brothers, which have yielded hit titles such as Fast & Furious 6: The Game and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, as well as establish new strategic partnership programs. Petrovic will report to Kabam Chief Operating Officer Kent Wakeford.
“Chris is the perfect choice to help take Kabam through its next growth stage,” said Kabam chief operating officer Kent Wakeford. “His deep knowledge of the free-to-play games space, coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit will be a great addition to our leadership team.”
Prior to joining Kabam, Petrovic was the general manager of GameStop Digital Ventures, where he led the company’s digital strategy and was responsible for strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions. During his tenure, digital revenues for the company grew by a half a billion dollars. Previous roles include vice president of digital media at Playboy Enterprises and vice president of business development at American Greetings Interactive.
“I’m a big believer in the core gamer, and have watched Kabam grow into the market leader it is today by creating fantastic games for that passionate audience,” said Petrovic. “I can’t wait to leverage my experience with the world-class team at Kabam to build on that great foundation.”
Kabam is the leader in free-to-play games, with four games grossing more than $100 million by the end of 2013. With offices throughout the U.S. as well as China, South Korea, England, Luxembourg, Germany and Canada, Kabam delivers hit games to global audiences to create long-lasting franchises. Kabam games are routinely among the top 25 grossing games on iOS and Android, and in 2013 Kabam had two of the top ten grossing apps on iOS. Kabam closed out 2013 with more than $360 million in revenues and projects revenues of $550 - $650 million this year.
In addition to the acquisitions and partnership programs that Petrovic will now lead, Kabam continues to innovate in the free-to-play space, creating its own hit games such as Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North, as well as expanding Kabam Publishing, which delivers hit games from top Asia developers to western audiences.
Petrovic is the most recent high-profile hire for Kabam in 2014. Earlier this year the company bolstered its executive ranks with the addition of Paxton Cooper, Jr., senior vice president, Platform; Doug Inamine, senior vice president, People; and Jordan Edelstein, vice president of Marketing, Kabam Studios.
About Kabam
Kabam is the leader in the western world for free-to-play games for traditional players with first and third party published titles available on mobile devices via the Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and on the Web via Facebook, Yahoo, Kabam.com and other platforms. Kabam is the fastest growing Internet media company in the San Francisco Bay Area and the 17th fastest growing company overall in the U.S., according to Deloitte LLP. Kabam's 2013 revenues exceeded $360 million, a 100 percent increase over 2012. The company is profitable and cash-flow positive, and has created four titles that have grossed more than $100M each in their life. Kabam's Kingdoms of Camelot franchise has grossed more than $250 million in less than four years, making it one of the top 10 strategy franchises of all time. In 2012, Kabam Publishing was launched to provide third-party developers access to Kabam's technology platform, distribution channels, data analytics and best practices that Kabam's in-house development teams use to bring wildly successful games to players worldwide. Kabam has approximately 800 employees around the world, with corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The company's investors include Google, Warner Brothers, MGM, Intel, Canaan Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures and others. More information about Kabam can be found at www.kabam.com.
