Washington Interactive Network Awards

WASHINGTON INTERACTIVE NETWORK ANNOUNCES
GAME EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AND GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Local leaders are recognized by their peers for excellence.


BELLEVUE, Washington, April. 24, 2017 – Washington Interactive Network (WIN) announced today the recipients of their inaugural leadership awards.   The awards are made to acknowledge those individuals that have made significant contribution to the Washington interactive media industry.

Jesse Rapczak, Co-Founder & Co-Creative Director, Studio Wildcard will be awarded Game Executive of the Year. Katy Jo Wright, Director of Gaming for Everyone at Xbox will be awarded Game Changer of the Year. The winners will be presented with their awards on April 26th at the 10th Annual Power of Play event in Bellevue, WA.

The winners were nominated and selected by industry executives and the Washington Interactive Network Board of Directors. The purpose of these awards is to highlight local game industry leaders who have reached levels of excellence.

“These awards present an opportunity to showcase the leaders and difference-makers in Washington’s thriving game and interactive media industry,” said Kristina Hudson, Executive Director of Washington Interactive Network. “We are thrilled to honor Jesse and Katy Jo and are excited to see their continued success.”  Click Here to view the awards presentation.

Game Executive
of the Year

http://powerofplay.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/rapczak-300x300.jpg
Game Executive of the Year Jesse Rapczak helmed Studio Wildcard in Kirkland, WA as they have sold nearly 10M units of their first game, ARK: Survival Evolved to date. ARK’s concurrent player counts consistently put it in the top 5 games played worldwide on Steam every day, nearly two years after release. Ark: Survival Evolved is available on Steam, XboxOne, and PlayStation 4. The final version of the game and full retail release is still yet to come in 2017.

Game Changer
of the Year

http://powerofplay.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Wright-300x300.jpg
Game Changer of the Year Katy Jo Wright started Gaming For Everyone with the sponsorship of Phil Spencer, Bonnie Ross, Shannon Loftis and Dave McCarthy. This program was poised to shift the mindset in applying diversity and inclusion to not just the people, but to the product and gamers as well. With an end-to-end focus to integrate inclusive thinking and practices into everything they do at Xbox, Katy Jo and Gaming For Everyone has driven change in the product, the Xbox culture, and the employee base and is an influencer in driving change across the industry.
For more information on the criteria for these awards, bios and images, CLICK HERE.
win_one