The developers of Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster (who are also working on F1 Manager 2022) have already named David Braben’s successor.

Braben created his breakthrough hit game Elite, a space simulator, in 1984. That franchise is still running today, courtesy of Elite Dangerous (the game, released in 2014, recently completed the Azimuth Saga storyline), and Braben led the team for 28 years, of which he was also a founder. He won’t be going far, as he will remain at the UK-based studio in the newly created position of president but will hand over day-to-day executive duties to creative boss Johnny Watts.

According to Frontier, Braben will “retain his leadership and vision for Frontier’s strategic direction, whilst maintaining and building key relationships within the games industry and the wider digital entertainment sector”, which makes sense given that he founded the studio in 1994, a year after the release of Frontier: Elite 2. In 2015, he received the Pioneer Award at the GDC for his work on the Elite series and then the BAFTA Fellowship Award “in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games.”

Braben said, “Frontier is significant to me, and I am delighted to be able to pass on my CEO responsibilities to the exceptionally talented Jonny Watts, who I know will do a terrific job. He has the perfect combination of creative leadership and gaming vision to build on the excellent momentum in the business. I am looking forward to my new role at Frontier, and this change enables me to focus on our longer-term strategic opportunities.”

Watts has been with Frontier for more than 20 years and has held the position of creative director since 2012. He is credited with the “Develop, Launch and Nurture” strategy, which was noted in the company’s 2021 report: more profit while lowering the risk (they achieved record earnings in the previous fiscal year).

Source: PCGamer