Draw & Code Kick Off 2020 By Announcing a New CEO – Spencer Crossley
Liverpool City Region’s Draw & Code, the immersive technology studio behind augmented reality video game and toy SwapBots, have announced a new CEO. Spencer Crossley, formerly of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, is joining the UK studio to work alongside studio co-founders Andy Cooper and John Keefe, who remain in their current roles as Creative Director and Technical Director respectively.
Spencer was targeted to aid the continued growth of the business and to leverage his enviable track record in commercialising video game and entertainment IPs. After spending the 2010s delivering projects for global clients, Draw & Code is building upon its existing work-for-hire capabilities by developing and launching immersive entertainment products.
Boasting decades of experience as a senior board-level executive, Spencer Crossley is an expert in interactive media, video games, high-tech toys and more. A founding member of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment UK, Spencer was key to the launch of the Lego video game franchise. This was just one IP amongst many others as Warner Bros’ embryonic games arm quickly grew to become the UK’s third largest video game publisher.
This followed Spencer’s previous appointments at Hasbro, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Mindscape International as he progressed from a marketing background to commercial sales and senior management roles. Meanwhile, as founder of Atomic Entertainment, he has worked on commercial strategy and funding for start-ups and high-growth companies – many sharing commonalities with the agile studio environment of Draw & Code. Spencer Crossley said:
“This opportunity to work with such an innovative team in the world of immersive technology, LBE and connected play is thrilling,. Immersive location-based entertainment is an area that is already valued at $4.5bn and is growing rapidly, while connected play is a trend in games and toys that is creating opportunities to disrupt the status quo – I look forward to helping Draw & Code unlock their potential in these fast-moving markets.”
Draw & Code were one of the earliest work-for-hire studios to commit to immersive technology. Established nearly 10 years ago, the studio has worked with brands such as Mercedes, Philips, Nokia and Red Bull. Along the way, the team has pioneered new technical and creative IP internally such as SwapBots and a yet-to-be-revealed LBE (location based entertainment) product. The impending commercialisation of these products is the impetus for the studio seeking to bolster the team’s strategic expertise. Andy Cooper, Co-Founder of Draw & Code, said:
“Spencer’s experience of bringing interactive entertainment products to market will be invaluable to Draw & Code as we push ourselves into new markets. This revised company structure will also allow the existing management team to focus on production, R&D into new technologies and to continue to grow our client base”.
During 2020 SwapBots will be launching to retail after a successful Kickstarter campaign ahead of the reveal of a new LBE product.
Discover more about Draw & Code.