Why indie developers should consider hiring a COO

gamesindustry.biz:

Christopher Dring

Head of Games B2B

Thursday 31st March 2022

FuturLab

There's a notion that the job of chief operating officer only exists at the biggest games companies.

EA, Ubisoft, Activision... These companies have a COO. Not indie studios working on one or two games.

And yet the role of COO has become an increasingly vital position for companies of all sizes, particularly for those teams experiencing growth. Futurlab, the team behind PowerWash Simulator, is a prime example. And just last month it named industry veteran Chris Mehers as its first COO.

"It depends on size and trajectory," Mehers explains. "For 18 years, Futurlab didn't need a COO. But they've now got a hit in the making with PowerWash Simulator.

"They're growing. We've gone from 20 to 50 people. So suddenly you've got a creative founder [James Marsden] who's realised that if this continues, as much as he loves the success, his job is going to be running a studio and not making games. He will get pulled away because there's all sorts of really mission critical stuff around people, finance, operations, all the rest of it, which has to happen.

Chris Mehers, Futurlab COO

"For James, and I'm sure it's the same for other founders, you get to a point where the reason you got into the games industry is just a tiny fraction of what you have to do every day. James can continue to add massive value to FuturLab by being hands on at the coalface of creativity, rather than having to run all the backroom stuff... Systems, process, people, those bring challenges that needs someone to look after."

You often hear the idea of bringing in a COO as 'hiring your own boss', although Mehers doesn't really see it that way.

"That has a corporate feel to it," he says. "If you're in an