SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kabam, a world leader in AAA mobile free-to-play games, today announced the promotion of Jeff Howell to Chief Technology Officer, a newly created position for the company. In this new role, Howell will build a global technology strategy and oversee technology and development practices across the company. He also will continue to lead the development and implementation of Kabam’s proprietary technology engine “Fuse & Sparx.”
Howell will report to President of Studios & Live Services, Aaron Loeb who, along with President of Studios & Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu, is re-building Kabam to enact CEO Kevin Chou’s vision of bringing massively multi-player mobile games to a global audience.
“Jeff is the natural choice as Kabam’s first chief technology officer,” said Loeb. “He has been an integral member of the Kabam team, having led the continued advancement of technology in our games to be the highest quality mobile games in the industry. Through Jeff’s leadership, Kabam is producing some of the highest-fidelity games in the mobile games industry, with tools and technology that allow our artists and designers maximum freedom to innovate and express their creativity.”
Howell is a 12-year games industry veteran and a highly experienced engineer, having worked at Electronic Arts Vancouver for four years and Relic Entertainment in Vancouver for two years before joining Exploding Barrel Games Inc. (EBG), as CTO in 2010. Kabam acquired EBG in 2013 where Howell remained an instrumental leader, turning out such hit games as Fast & Furious 6: The Game and Fast & Furious: Legacy as well as the global smash hit, Marvel Contest of Champions.
“Kabam continues to attract the industry’s top talent and produce stunning mobile games,” said Howell. “I’m excited to jump into this new role and lead some of the best engineers in the industry. I also look forward to helping shape Kabam’s technology future with our own engine, Fuse & Sparx, which enables engineers to develop at a quicker pace and build higher levels of integration for customers in our games.”
Howell will work alongside Senior Vice President & General Manager of Platform and Central Services Paxton Cooper, who joined Kabam in December 2013 and also reports to Loeb. Howell will continue to be based in Kabam’s Vancouver office.
With a $1 billion valuation and profitable since 2012, Kabam is one of the top mobile gaming companies in the industry. Five Kabam games have grossed more than $100 million each in less than four years, including Marvel Contest of Champions, which reached this milestone in seven months.
About Kabam
Kabam, Inc. (“Kabam”) creates, develops, and publishes games that are available on mobile devices via its own dedicated channel in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore. Valued at more than $1 billion, Kabam is the 6th fastest growing company overall in North America, according to Deloitte LLP. The company has been profitable since 2012. Kabam's Kingdoms of Camelot franchise has grossed more than $250 million, making it one of the top 10 strategy franchises of all time. Kabam has also created five titles that have grossed more than $100 million each in their life. In 2014, Kabam had three titles rank in the Top 50 Grossing apps on the App Store. Kabam has more than 825 employees around the world, with corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The company's investors include Alibaba, Canaan Partners, Google, MGM, Intel, Pinnacle Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Warner Brothers and others. More information about Kabam can be found at www.kabam.com.
