Jagex hires Microsoft, Nokia as RuneScape's global marketer

Independent developer and publisher Jagex has hired Simon Etchells, formerly a marketer for Microsoft and Nokia, as the new global marketing manager for its MMORPG RuneScape. The company has brought in and promoted a number of high-level employees in recent months, including Rockstar veteran Alex Horton as its chief creative officer, ex-Codemasters VP David Solari as its chief marketing officer, and its chief operating officer Daniel Clough. Etchells has more than 20 years of experience in the game industry, working in or heading marketing departments for game companies like Electronic Arts, Square Enix, LucasArts, Vivendi Universal, and Nokia. Most recently, he was group product marketing manager for Microsoft's first-party games in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), where he helped launch titles from Xbox 360 franchises like Forza, Gears of War, Fable, and Halo. He will now take responsibility for all marketing activities with the Cambridge-based company's flagship game, RuneScape. The free-to-play, browser-based MMORPG has attracted more than 156 million registered users around the world since launching in 2002.