Published Oct 24th, 2023

James Schmalz - founder of Digital Extremes, today announced his intention to step down as CEO of the company. Chief Creative Officer and 24-year studio veteran Steve Sinclair will assume CEO duties effective immediately. James will remain on the board of directors, contributing insight and guidance. The moves take place as the Canadian studio prepares to celebrate 30 years of operation.

“It’s been a long journey from Epic Pinball to Soulframe,” remarked Schmalz as he reflected on three decades of leadership. “I feel immensely privileged to have been able to play my part in shaping our industry; building our stellar team has been a fulfilling life work. I feel in Steve we have the ideal leader to take us and our growing community of players into a new era and can’t wait to see what can be accomplished under his leadership.”

Sinclair previously led development on Warframe, a sprawling live-service space epic with a community of more than 75 million registered users. The award-winning game recently celebrated its 10th anniversary on the market. Sinclair is presently leading development on Soulframe alongside Creative Director Geoff Crookes.

“I’d like to join the rest of the DE team and our community in thanking James for all he’s done. James saying ‘yes’ to Warframe in 2012 and boldly committing to making it work changed the trajectory of our company. James believed - and continues to believe - in our team when no one else would, and established one of the most community-oriented and player-focused studios in the world,” commented Sinclair. “Making great games with a team that values a culture of positivity, dignity, and high performance is our goal. I’m humbled and nervous to lead this amazing company; for now I’ll throw my ‘Lunaro 2’ notes in the trash so we can remain focused on our commitment to surprise and delight audiences around the world.”