CORRECTING and REPLACING, Ex-Activision Blizzard Consumer Products President Steve Young Joins Web3 Game Company Param Labs
April 17 2024 - 12:07PM
Business Wire
Please replace the release dated April 15, 2024 with the
following corrected version due to multiple revisions.
The updated release reads:
EX-ACTIVISION BLIZZARD CONSUMER PRODUCTS
PRESIDENT STEVE YOUNG JOINS WEB3 GAME COMPANY PARAM LABS
Blockchain game and technology development studio Param Labs has
appointed Steve Young, the former President of Consumer Products at
Activision Blizzard, to the board after its recent success with $4
million in revenue over the past eleven months.
Young has spent more than 25 years in consumer products and
gaming, initially starting with Unilever Group, leading the growth
of its personal care brands such as Suave and Vaseline Intensive
Care.
Young has deep experience in growing and managing businesses. He
joined the Unilever Group in 1992 in the sales and category
management division before becoming a senior brand marketing
manager. Unilever grew to become one of the largest fast-moving
consumer goods companies, with operations in over 60 countries by
2002. Young was responsible for guiding brand strategy and ongoing
management of marketing initiatives. He was responsible for total
annual revenues of over $180 million and delivered business plans
and full product P&L delivery, including sales and marketing
budgets of over $40 million.
Young, who stepped down from his role at Unilever in 2005,
joined Activision Blizzard, developing retail programming for its
most prominent brands, such as Spider-Man, Call of Duty and more,
with over $75 million in budget responsibility for marketing
activities. He grew into the role over the next 14 years to become
the president of the consumer products group at Activision and
chief revenue officer, leading Activision's global commercial
teams, responsible for worldwide digital and retail software sales
with total revenue responsibilities of over $2.8 billion.
In a statement, Young admits having a deep and innate love for
technology and gaming, which led him to join Param Labs and its
game Kiraverse to help the company increase the digital adoption of
blockchain technology and its games within broader audiences.
Param Labs is an independent game development studio focusing on
blockchain gaming and innovative technology development. The
company's flagship title, Kiraverse, is an open-world action
shooter similar to Fortnite or PUBG, with the ability to import
NFTs from any collection on the market or game genre for a unique,
cross-IP and cross-ecosystem experience. The game has generated
over $4 million in revenue over the past 11 months while also
announcing a strategic partnership with Loud GG led by YouTuber
Bruno 'Playhard' Bittencourt.
Within its infrastructure sits Pixel-to-Poly, a model which
transforms 2D assets into high-quality, game-ready 3D characters
that cost $199 each. Param Labs and its Kiraverse recently
partnered with major brands such as GameStop and its NFTs to bring
'Buck-the-Bunny' to life in Kiraverse via Pixel-to-Poly. The
company also reported having custom characters for web3 gaming
company Immutable X and brought NFT projects such as Pudgy Penguins
to life in its game.
Kiraverse experienced annual growth of 100% for the last couple
of years, selling over 30,000+ NFTs with over $1.5 million in
revenues and more than $8 million in trading volume generated the
previous year on NFT marketplaces. The Kiraverse game sits in its
beta phase. Emphasising scale and swift expansion are critical
objectives for our business and its profitability, founder and CEO
Anthony Anderson explained in a statement.
The tech startup has received backing and investment from
various companies, such as the Abu Dhabi Government, Animoca
Brands, Immutable X and more. It has already distributed more than
$1 million in value to its NFT holders via tradable skins as of Q1
2024.
As for Steve, the company's growth and penetration into
mainstream gamers remains paramount now that he's joined the
company's board, as he noted in a statement: drawing on his
experience from Activision Blizzard and the Unilever Group, with
expertise and network to help with user acquisition, game
development and revenue generation strategies, and acting as a
sounding board to the executive team.
About Param Labs
Param Labs is at the forefront of leveraging artificial
intelligence and blockchain technologies to advance the rapidly
growing US$200B+ gaming industry. By addressing some of the most
significant challenges believed to limit the sector's long-term
growth, Param Labs is setting new standards for innovation and user
engagement. Its ecosystem is crafted to provide gamers with digital
ownership over their gaming assets, and to enable the creation of
user-generated value across their experiences. With a keen focus on
solving apparent issues in the gaming world, Param Labs designs
products that not only aim to seamlessly integrate millions of new
users into the benefits of Web3 technology but also to empower
individual creators and studios. The team is dedicated to
developing the necessary tools for effortlessly utilizing the
advantages of emerging technologies, paving the way for the future
of the gaming industry. Through its efforts, Param Labs is
positioned as a pivotal player in transforming how gamers interact
with digital content, promoting a more inclusive and dynamic gaming
environment. Param’s team boasts experienced professionals from
renowned companies such as Activision, EA, and Ubisoft, as well as
world-renowned artists Antoni and Marc Tudisco behind the game and
character designs.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240415750833/en/
Param Labs Media: Sofia Quiroga Lobo
Contact@paramlabs.io