Jonathan Knight Promoted to Chief Games Officer

Jonathan Knight is being promoted to chief video games officer, in recognition of his extraordinary management of Games and the expanded function he’ll play throughout The New York Times.

Jonathan joined the corporate in 2020 as common supervisor of Games, arriving with over 20 years of expertise within the gaming trade, together with management roles on main gaming franchises like The Sims, FarmVille and Words with Friends. He got here in with an ambition to construct on the success of the Crossword, the Mini and Spelling Bee whereas increasing our portfolio of considerate, joyful video games — and within the six years since, he has greater than delivered. 

He led the acquisition of Wordle, impressed a reimagining of the Games app that went on to win Apple’s App of the Year Award, and helped drive the launch of beloved hit video games like Connections, Strands, Pips and Crossplay. Along the way in which, he and the Games crew have reworked Games right into a a lot greater development engine for The Times by constructing distinctive merchandise and communities that convey tens of millions of individuals again to play each day.

In making the announcement, govt vice chairman and chief product officer, Alex Hardiman mentioned:

“Jonathan understands what makes a sport genuinely enjoyable, what makes a puzzle really feel elegant and satisfying, and how one can flip that intuition into an expertise folks need to return to and share with the folks they love. Just as importantly, he’s constructed and led a crew that displays that very same spirit — collaborative, curious and all the time pushing to boost the bar for what Games could be.

In his expanded function, Jonathan will convey his artistic management to new components of our product portfolio, collaborating with leaders to determine new video games and game-inspired experiences that may develop and deepen each day habits. He may even assist determine new alternatives to increase and monetize our NYT Games model in partnership with groups throughout the corporate.

Jonathan’s promotion displays each the large success of Games beneath his management and the thrilling alternatives forward. All of us who’ve ever texted a pal their Wordle rating, agonized over a Connections purple sq. or discovered the right Strands spangram know the way fortunate we’re to name him our colleague.”