The New York Times expands Jonathan Knight into chief games officer
Key takeaways
- Joined The New York Times in September 2020
- NYT acquired and integrated Wordle in 2022
- Crossplay reached No. 1 on the Top Free Games chart
- Led 100+ developers on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite at Warner Bros. Games
The New York Times has promoted Jonathan Knight into an expanded chief games officer role, keeping him at the head of the publication’s games operation. Knight announced the move on LinkedIn and said he was grateful for the continued opportunity to support the paper’s mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
Knight has led NYT Games since joining the company in September 2020. His tenure includes overseeing the acquisition and integration of Wordle in 2022 and creating Crossplay, the paper’s first two-player competitive word game, which hit No. 1 on the Top Free Games chart. His remit at NYT has covered P&L and the publishing pipeline for daily titles including The New York Times Crossword, Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands and Pips.
Before NYT, Knight spent more than two decades in games. At Warner Bros. Games he was VP and studio head in San Francisco, leading more than 100 developers on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and launching DC Legends. As SVP of games at Zynga he ran the Ville and With Friends divisions, overseeing more than 300 employees and launching New Words With Friends and FarmVille on mobile. Knight also worked nine-plus years at Electronic Arts as VP and executive producer on projects including The Sims and The Simpsons Game, and began his career at Activision producing titles such as Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
Why it matters
Takeaway: Knight’s expanded title formalizes control over NYT’s live-games business and development pipeline — he’s managing P&L and the daily puzzle slate after leading Wordle’s integration and a Crossplay launch that reached No. 1, so the company’s games lineup now sits squarely under his remit.
Original source
PocketGamer.biz
