Demetri Detsaridis

Bringing everything I've learned in 23 years of game development, virtual economy design and management, operating games-as-a-service, and making fun into a new frontier in the space. Haveli is defining the role of private equity and late-stage investment in the videogames industry, and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of it.

Geoffrey Zatkin and I co-founded this VR development studio with the aim of establishing a social tabletop gaming ecosystem for VR platforms. We debuted with the highly-rated Magic Table Chess, followed by the Dungeons-and-Dragons-branded Dungeon Chess in 2017. Our follow-up, Catan VR, topped the charts on almost every VR platform, but we got to the party a bit early. Our games remain available, however, and one silver lining of the pandemic era was seeing our thesis validated. Better late than never!

Joined Epic as Product Lead for the Fortnite Creator Ecosystem in April of 2021 with a mandate to help build the infrastructure, support, and incentive systems that creators would need as Fortnite's UGC economy matured. What does that mean day-to-day? A mixture of high- and low-level economy design, big- and small-picture product management, AAA games production, and "strike team" leadership. While not everything we developed saw the light of day as part of Fortnite's Creator Economy 2.0, I'm extremely proud of the sophisticated approaches to game economy management that this team pioneered.

During 2019 and '20, I was Executive Producer of a major interactive initiative for Sphere, the groundbreaking venue then under development at the Madison Square Garden Company. Featuring the world's largest and highest-resolution LED screen, an audio system verging on science-fiction, and unprecedented broadband connectivity for every patron, Sphere makes an astounding concert hall. My team's role, however, was to think past "passive" use cases, designing and developing ways in which audiences could interact with stories, performers, and one another. Live multiplayer experiences, two-screen games using mobile clients, experimental gameplay, and immersive digital theater were just some of the possibilities we explored during my tenure.

Helped gaming and technology companies answer fascinating challenges and grow their businesses. Clients ranged from lean and hungry six-person startups to several multinational household names, working both on my own and as part of the games industry's leading consultancy, Hit Detection. From strategic evaluations of game platform rollouts to virtual economy design (F2P mobile, AAA console, and all that's in-between), consulting allowed me to both put my experience to use and to stretch my skills into exciting new areas.

General Manager of Zynga New York (née Area/Code) for two years. Brought into the fold to meld design-driven innovation with Zynga's data/analytics expertise, I learned a tremendous amount about creating teams and products that balance the two. The New York studio worked on several projects during my tenure, but my favorite was the experimental Friend Game, which Kotaku said was "what a Facebook game should feel like".

For two years, I was General Manager of one of the most creative companies in the games business, New York's indie pioneer Area/Code. We made games like Drop7, CSI: Crime City, Sharkrunners, Parking Wars, and MTV's Backchannel for platforms like Facebook, iOS, gymnasiums, the streets of Minneapolis, and television. As of our January, 2011, acquisition Area/Code became Zynga New York.

As Co-Founder and Creative Director of Massively Mobile, I was responsible for the game design and creative leadership of all of our projects. I designed and directed all five of our completed titles, including the 2008 releases Pokermillion 2009 and Ben 10: All Out Attack, as well as the mobile version of Bible Fight, developed in partnership with the Cartoon Network.

I joined Gameloft's just-opened New York studio in January of 2005 as their first Game Design hire. In addition to designing and leading the development of bestselling mobile title Midnight Hold ’Em Poker, I also consulted on many Gameloft projects as an in-house expert on licensed property game adaptations, producing designs for licensors such as Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, the Cartoon Network and MTV.

Having spent several years in the casual games field, I moved to DC Comics to take on a role that would involve producing responsibilities on several console and PC titles. While at DC, I served as Associate Producer on Constantine, 100 Bullets, Catwoman (Sorry!) and Spy vs. Spy. I also held both production and design responsibilities on DC Universe Online, an MMORPG that was (at the time) being developed in-house by Warner Bros. Unfortunately for me, when Sony took over production of DCUO, the project was relocated to San Diego, along with my position.