Christoph Hartmann on his career in the game industry and the future of Amazon Games
Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Games sat down with Gamespot recently to discuss his career in the game industry, what he’s learned along the way, and the future of Amazon Games.
The story covers Christoph’s beginnings in the game industry, from his time at BMG Interactive and the early days of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, to co-founding 2K Games and overseeing the release of iconic titles like BioShock and Borderlands. Throughout the piece, Christoph shares his insights and lessons learned.
Hartmann and Levine had what Hartmann called a «healthy fight» about BioShock, and this back-and-forth is what Hartmann believes contributed to BioShock becoming a beloved game.
«That's where I learned in gaming… [there needs to be] a system of checks and balances. Head of creative and head of production: One has the job to make it the best game ever, one has the job of getting it done. And then we'll have some debates.»
Gamespot goes on to detail the history and current trajectory of Amazon Games, and Christoph’s vision for the organization’s future:
“When I came to Amazon, I said I had a decent career in gaming, I don't feel like I have to go out to prove a lot to other people or myself—if I have two or three more hits, then I'm going to go sit in my rocking chair and tell my grandchildren about it. Now we've had two okay hits and now I'm just hungrier. I want to be the biggest live-service games publisher in the world.”
For more — including why Christoph wants Amazon to become “the Disney of the future” and how his pug played a role in marketing Borderlands — read the piece .
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