FTX Hires Former WB Gaming Exec to Lead Gaming Partnerships

FTX has hired former WB Games executive Steve Sadin to run its new gaming partnerships department.

• Sadin will be responsible for helping developers integrate digital assets into their games or launch tokens, the company said Thursday.
• FTX established the dedicated gaming unit in February.
• “We’re putting players first and creating open economies powered by the blockchain that grant players true asset ownership,” Sadin said in a press release. “We’re making it possible for developers to create in-game assets that players will pass down to their future grandchildren.”
• During his time at WB Games’ Boston studio, Sadin launched “Game of Thrones: Conquest.” In earlier roles, he was involved in a number of hit games and worked with well-known franchises like Batman, WWE and The Walking Dead.
• In January, FTX launched a $2 billion venture fund run by Amy Wu, formerly of Lightspeed Venture Partners. Part of the fund’s remit is to invest in crypto gaming projects.
• Before he was at WB Games, Sadin was a vice president at Sega, responsible for the company’s free-to-play Sonic games.
• Gaming giant Ubisoft included NFTs alongside “Ghost Recon: Breakpoint,” but they were met with a lukewarm reception from fans with on-chain data suggesting that the company has only sold a few hundred dollars worth of the themed non-fungible tokens (NFT).

Read more: Crypto Exchange FTX Establishes $2B Fund to Invest in Crypto Startups