Lionsgate-Backed Telltale Games Gets New Boss

Telltale Games has hired Zynga and Electronic Arts veteran Pete Hawley as president and CEO. He replaces the current CEO, co-founder Dan Connors, who shifts to an advisory role. This is the games developer and publisher that Lionsgate came aboard in February 2015 as an investor, part of its expansion into the game space; Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer is on Telltale’s board.

The company is behind narrative-driven episodic games including Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Mojang’s Minecraft, HBO’s Game of Thrones, DC Comics’ Batman, Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy, 2K’s Borderlands and Vertigo’s Fables.

Prior to Telltale, Hawley was SVP and GM of Games at Zynga and CEO and co-founder at Red Robot Labs. He also has had gigs at CrowdStar and Electronic Arts.

“Pete Hawley is widely regarded as a forward-looking executive with a strong grasp of where the interactive entertainment business is heading,” Feltheimer said. “We at Lionsgate look forward to working closely with Pete, John [board chairman John Ricciteiello] and the rest of the Telltale team. With dynamic new leadership, a strong market position and a AAA roster of top intellectual property, Telltale has an exciting path forward, and the collaborative opportunities for our two content companies are greater than ever.”