Epic hires former WB Games Seattle manager to lead Seattle studio

Laura Fryer, previously general manager of WB Games Seattle, will now serve the same role for Epic's new Seattle studio, the company has announced. Prior to her time at Warner Bros, where she oversaw studios like Monolith, Fryer also worked for Microsoft Game Studios (now simply Microsoft Studios), and was "a founding member of the Xbox project."

This won't be the first time Fryer has worked with Epic. While at Microsoft, she served as executive producer on both Gears of War and Gears of War 2.

Epic's Seattle studio, as yet still unnamed, was launched last month. Its primary focus, initially, revolves around "engineering efforts" for Unreal Engine 4. As of this writing, it appears the studio is still hiring, with several active job listings still available on Epic's careers site.

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Epic Games Enlists Laura Fryer to Lead Seattle Studio

Industry heavyweight takes the helm of new West Coast operation

CARY, N.C. (October 18, 2012) – Epic Games, Inc. announces the hiring of Laura Fryer as general manager of its new Seattle studio, which is currently focused on engineering efforts for the company's award-winning Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) technology. Fryer brings more than 17 years of industry experience to Epic, where she will manage Epic Games in Seattle and direct its strategic goals.

Prior to joining Epic, Fryer spent four years as general manager of WB Games Seattle, where she oversaw game development for Warner Bros.' internal studios in the Seattle area, including Monolith, creator of the recently released "Gotham City Impostors" and upcoming "Guardians of Middle Earth."

One of Microsoft Game Studios' first employees, Fryer shipped numerous games as a producer, and also conceived and produced Microsoft's first release of Zone.com. During her tenure, Fryer was also the director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group and a founding member of the Xbox project. In this role, she cultivated worldwide Xbox Developer Support, launched XNA, created the Xbox Advisory Board and ran Xbox game developer events around the world. As an executive producer at Microsoft Game Studios, Fryer was responsible for shipping "Gears of War" and "Gears of War 2."

"Laura Fryer is one of the brightest leaders of the game industry today, and we're thrilled to have her guide our new Seattle studio," said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. "Laura was a key member of the 'Gears of War' team, and we've long hoped to work with her again."

Fryer has been listed as one of The Hollywood Reporter's "Top 12 Most Influential Women in Gaming," Next Generation's "Game Industry's 100 Most Influential Women," and Gamasutra's "Top 20 Women in Games."

Epic is recruiting exceptional programmers and senior-level talent specializing in online game services and the infrastructure to support them for its Seattle office. Job listings can be found athttp://www.epicgames.com/careers/seattle.

About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed toolset and scalability across major platforms. Operating on nine platforms, including PC, consoles and mobile devices, Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for creating high-quality games, applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Powering hundreds of games and integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and five Develop Industry Excellence Awards. The Unreal Engine also holds a seat in the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame. Epic recently revealed Unreal Engine 4, winner of multiple Best of E3 2012 awards, which offers unprecedented workflow improvements and graphical capabilities that provide unparalleled accessibility for developers building the next generation of games and applications. For additional information, please visithttp://www.unrealengine.com.

About Epic Games
Established in 1991, Epic Games, Inc. develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company is responsible for the bestselling "Unreal" series of games, the blockbuster "Gears of War" franchise and the groundbreaking "Infinity Blade" line of mobile games. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology has won dozens of awards and is available for licensing. Epic is continually recruiting top talent for its studios located in North Carolina, Washington, Utah, Maryland, Poland, Korea and Japan. Additional information about Epic can be obtained athttp://www.epicgames.com.

Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, Unreal, Unreal Developer Network, UDN, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, UE4 and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.