Following a period of uncertainty, embryonic video game developer Motorsport Games has formally announced a new Chief Executive Officer and President.
Stephen Hood has taken up the CEO role according to a new 8-K filing, heading the team that has team members spread across Australia, Georgia, the UK and the USA.
Outgoing lead Dmitry Kozko will continue to sit on the board of directors to both ensure the handover of responsibilities to the new CEO and work on future investment opportunities.
Kozko headed the company through a period of change, securing licencing deals to create dedicated games for real-world series such as IndyCar, NASCAR, the 24 Hours of Le Mans/World Endurance Championship and the British Touring Car Championship alongside an initial public offering via the Nasdaq in early 2021.
He was also instrumental in securing a new board and external investment, both of which safeguarded the company’s immediate future at the start of 2023. This followed the tumultuous launch of the NASCAR 21: Ignition game and the subsequent cancellation of titles originally planned for release based on its technology.
“With Motorsport Games continuing to focus on creating great racing games, it just makes sense for someone with Stephen’s experience to be at the helm,” said Kozko to Traxion.GG.
“Therefore I believe MSGM has a good chance to finally turn around and give fans great experiences.”
Hood, meanwhile arrives off the back of near six-year tenure at Codemasters, responsible for the Formula 1 game series between 2009 and 2014. He returns to Motorsport Games following a stint as President between 2019 and 2022 and recently worked for sim racing event platform The SimGrid.
“The opportunity to come back to the company I helped form, was too hard to resist,” said Hood.
“It’s important to seize this opportunity and move in the right direction for our partners, employees and fans of racing games. Without the support of those within the organisation, my return would not have been possible, and I’d like to thank everyone for their kind words.
“This will not be easy, and we have much to do, but challenges are there to be overcome. I’m excited to drive the future of this business.”
The news follows the company retaining its Nasdaq status in February and delaying its upcoming IndyCar game until 2024, with its NASCAR plans to be confirmed following the closure of its Russian development studio due to the Ukraine war.
This article was updated at 16:25 CEST with quotes from Dmitry Kozko and Stephen Hood.
Full disclosure – Traxion.GG is part of Motorsport Games and the Motorsport Games family of brands. All Traxion.GG content is editorially removed from Motorsport Games video game development and created by a dedicated team.
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