Insomniac games founder Ted Price is retiring after more than 30 years of making games: 'It was simply time to step aside and let others pave the way'
After a career spanning more than 30 years, Insomniac Games founder and CEO Ted Price has announced that he is retiring at the end of March. Price said he made the decision to step down in 2024, as he «felt it was simply time to step aside and let others pave the way for our team.»
Price founded Insomniac in 1994, and while its first game, the 1996 shooter Disruptor, was well received, it was Spyro the Dragon a couple years later that really put the studio on the map. Success continued with Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, Sunset Overdrive, and more recently the Marvel's Spider-Man series, which took four years to come to PC, not that I'm counting.
He also earned plaudits in 2022 for pressing Sony to allow studios to make public statements on abortion rights in the US in the weeks leading up to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Sony wouldn't budge on the matter—«We fought hard for this and we did not win,» Price wrote in an internal email—but Insomniac donated $50,000 to the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, an amount matched by Sony.
Replacing Price at the helm of Insomniac will be three «co-studio heads»: Head of creative Chad Dezern, head of franchise strategy and studio relations Ryan Schneider, and head of finance Jen Huang. Price said the trio «have been instrumental in making Insomniac what we are today.»
«I’ve seen each lead major initiatives here which have positively changed Insomniacs’ lives,» Price wrote. «Plus, they’ve consistently demonstrated the kind of collaboration and transparency that’s part of our DNA. And just as important, their skillsets are truly complementary.
»There is no way that I would ever consider handing the reins to a team I didn’t trust to take care of Insomniacs and lead us to even greater heights. Chad, Jen and Ryan are that team."
Price didn't say whether he has any specific post-Insomniac plans, only that he's «very excited to officially join the ranks of Insomniac fans. I can’t wait to experience our future games
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