Amazon Games today announced it has opened a new game development studio in Europe, based inBucharest, Romania.
The studio expands Amazon’s commitment to developing and publishing games. The studio expands Amazon’s studio portfolio, which includes existing development teams in Orange County, Montreal, San Diego and Seattle.
The new studio will focus on supporting Amazon Games’ diverse portfolio of games now and in thefuture. Amazon Games is actively hiring to build out the talented team, with many active roles opennow.
“Amazon Games is focused on developing and publishing great games, and we have an ambitiouslong-term roadmap in front of us,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, in a statement. “Expanding our internal development teams into Europe was a natural next step for us as we tackle our broad portfolio. Bucharest is known as one of the top emerging European cities for game development and we look forward to tapping into the rich talent pool.”
Amazon Games has hired industry veteran Cristian Pana to lead the studio. Pana brings more than 20 years of experience building video games, most recently serving as the managing director at UbisoftBucharest. Pana’s experience spans some of video games’ biggest games and franchises including TomClancy’s The Division, The Crew, Far Cry and Avatar and diverse genres, from driving games, actionadventure open world games to shooter RPGs.
“I’m thrilled to join Amazon Games at a time when the team is actively building across an exciting roadmap,” said Pana, Studio Head for Amazon Games Bucharest, in a statement. “I’ve built and led outstanding teams in the past and I know this area of Europe is a hot spot for some of the very best talent in gaming.”
The new studio supports Amazon Games’ vision of developing and publishing games that foster community in and around its games. The expanding portfolio from Amazon Games includes twolaunched live-service games, New World and Lost Ark, announced projects including Tomb Raider, TheLord of the Rings, and Throne and Liberty, as well as unannounced projects from the San Diego andMontreal studios, and the independent studio Glowmade in the United Kingdom.
Amazon Games is hiring across a variety of disciplines, and key open positions at the new studio inBucharest include software developers, artists, designers and animators.
“I started my career as a game tester over 20 years ago here in Bucharest,” Pana said. “It was a complete departure from my career as a licensed accountant. I always wanted to be in games. As a kid and teenager, I always dreamed about a job where I could play games for a living, and being a game tester is the closest I could imagine. I immediately jumped into this wonderful, ever-changing entertainment industry when I had the first opportunity. And since then, I’ve loved every day of my gaming career.”
Throughout childhood, Pana was an avid gamer, playing countless hours of his favorite titles, such as Railroad Tycoon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Super Mario Bros. After his video game testing days ended, Pana spent 20 years in a variety of game-development positions and disciplines, including compliance specialist, project closer, producer, executive producer and more. His career has taken him to multiple studios around the world, including stints in Shanghai, Toronto, Montreal, Lyon, Newcastle, Malmo and back to Bucharest in 2020 when he was named Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Romania and Serbia studios.
With more than 20 years at Ubisoft, Pana has overseen different parts of development for several popular triple-A titles, including Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Driver San Francisco, Far Cry 3, Splinter Cell Blacklist, The Crew, and Tom Clancy’s The Division.
“Many projects come to mind from different parts of my career, but if I have to choose one that I’m most proud of, it would be Tom Clancy’s The Division,” Pana said. “It’s the game when after the launch of the first title, I took over the brand, and I was in charge of developing the post-launch content for the first iteration of the game while starting the plans and the team for the second iteration. The Division 2 is going strong even five years after its launch, and I’m thrilled with the game’s results. I still believe it’s one of the best productions we worked on.”
Pana credits the success of those aforementioned titles to working alongside a fantastic team of collaborators, which is precisely what he’s looking to build at the new Amazon Games studio in Bucharest. “The most important characteristic for people on my team to have is a passion for games and gaming,” he said. “It’s an interesting and dynamic entertainment industry that you need to be in touch with. Then, I also look for people who are self-driven, motivated, ambitious, and not easily satisfied with the status quo. This makes for very dynamic team mechanics and an ability to adapt to different opportunities quickly. I like people who are responsible, owners of their part in the game, proud of what they’re creating, and last but not least, who are playing what they make.”
Regarding leadership, Pana credits former colleagues who have inspired him throughout various stages of his career, which has made him a more effective and responsible leader.
“I like to give a lot of ownership and autonomy to team members,” Pana said. “I like to jump in, help, and support whenever needed, and I’m always available for the team. I like to be transparent as well. I think it’s essential that everybody has the right level of information because that will help us to progress in different areas. It helps to be decisive and move things very fast.”
With Pana’s diverse and acclaimed background working alongside some of the industry’s best talent, Amazon said it was excited to welcome him to the team at Amazon Games.“What attracted me the most was that Amazon can open something and positively influence game development in Europe,” Pana said. “Amazon is a desirable company to work for, and we expect the new studio in Romania will attract a lot of top industry talent. See this post for more about the new Amazon Games studio in Bucharest.”
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