NaturalMotion founder Torsten Reil stepping down after 15 years

Torsten Reil, the founder and CEO of Zynga-owned software and game developer NaturalMotion, will be stepping down. 

According to a VentureBeat report, Reil is leaving the company he founded over 15 years ago for personal reasons  

During his lengthy tenure, Reil saw NaturalMotion create and commercialise popular game tech such as the Euphoria runtime engine, which has been used in blockbuster titles like Grant Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. 

He also oversaw the transition into game development, with NaturalMotion launching its first iPhone title, Backbreaker Football, in 2009. Since then, the studio has served up a number of hits including CSR Racing and Clumsy Ninja. 

NaturalMotion's success eventually led to it being acquired by Zynga for $527 million in January, 2014. The social game giant's current CEO, Frank Gibeau, wished Reil a fond farwell. 

"We want to thank Torsten for his many contributions to Zynga over the last three years," said Gibeau. "Torsten built a great team and launched incredible franchises like CSR, Dawn of Titans and Clumsy Ninja.

"On a personal note, I’ve enjoyed working with Torsten in my time as a board member and CEO. We respect and support his decision to take a personal break after more than 15 years with NaturalMotion." 

Moving forward, NaturalMotion COO, David Byrne, will step up as interim CEO for the time being.