The video game streaming platform, Antstream Arcade is continuing on its path to alter the way people play games, with the appointment of the games industry veteran Mike Rouse to lead its production team and build its internal studio. The move comes amid a period of record user growth for the company and its world’s first free-to-play game streaming platform.
Rouse joins Anstream from 2K’s Brighton based Hangar 13 where he was head of production and responsible for developing and co-ordinating strategy across the studio’s four global locations and 400 employees.
He brings with him over 20 years’ experience in the games industry, having worked with major companies including Microsoft, where he worked on projects including Hololens, and Sony. He brings his experience in pushing the boundaries of how players interact with games to his new role at Antstream Arcade, as it continues to expand its offering.
Rouse said: “As a lifelong fan of what we now have to call “vintage” games, working at Antstream Arcade represents the perfect combination of my passion for retro gaming and changing how players interact with games themselves. I think it is very likely that we are nearing the end of physical consoles – with physical media losing relevance to the rise of cloud-based gaming, it is all but inevitable.
“As the first company to successfully launch a free-to-play platform with thousands of games, Antstream is well placed to be at the forefront of this change.”
Steve Cottam, CEO of Antstream, added: “Between our new licensing partnerships with the likes of Disney and Bandai, and our decision to adopt a free-to-play model, we’re in a period of immense change here at Antstream. Bringing on someone with Mike’s expertise and experience in altering how people play games is a huge boost for us as video game streaming continues to drive the game industry forward as a whole.
“We look forward to working with him in taking our library of iconic video games to the biggest audience possible.”
Mike’s love of retro gaming is on full display on his Retro Gamer Boy YouTube channel, where he posts weekly unique videos delving into his own extensive retro gaming collection, and discussing the best retro games and consoles ever made. His retro gaming goal is to collect every SEGA Megadrive game, with only a few notable holdouts like Pirates of Darkwater standing between him and the holy grail of completionism.
