Metaverse studio Karta hires from Tommy Hilfiger, Epic Games and Emperia

Karta :

London, 21st May 2024: Karta, an award-winning metaverse studio pioneering the world of in-game experiential marketing, announces new hires from Tommy Hilfiger, Epic Games and Emperia. 

The startup, which works across Fortnite, Roblox and Zepeto, has been growing its senior team significantly with prominent names from fashion, tech and gaming to meet the ever-increasing demand for virtual branded experiences - with the metaverse remaining popular among global brands and artists.

Karta welcomes Morgan Evans as its brand-new Fashion and Beauty Director, joining from Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, as it expands its services to fashion and cosmetic clients. Also joining is Sarah Richards, moving over from the virtual brand and shopping experience platform Emperia to take up the new position as Art Director at Karta - leading on art direction across its upcoming projects.

Karta’s game design, programming and production output has been bolstered with three new hires; Tork Shaw joins from Epic Games and Mediatonic as the new Game Design Director, Oscar Halland, a Roblox and brand experience veteran, is announced as Lead Programmer for Roblox, making the move from well-known Roblox studios SuperSocial and Melon, while Jonny Coelho becomes Lead Producer, joining from well-known Fortnite Studio Beyond Creative.

The metaverse continues to evolve and provide new UGC gaming and marketing opportunities for artists and brands. With a new on-platform ecommerce recently announced, Karta sees an increase in demand as the opportunity for brands is no longer just marketing, engagement and virtual merchandising, but also direct sales of real-world products.

Erik Londré, CEO of Karta, says: “At Karta our goal is to deliver results to our clients and joy to the games. We believe a combination of marketers who understand the brands, games industry professionals with deep knowledge of production and game design and platform natives who get the audience is key. Our recent hires reflect that philosophy completely and the impact from Morgan, Sarah, Tork, Oscar and Jonny has been palpable from day one.”

Sarah Richards, Art Director at Karta, says: “I’m hugely excited to join Karta as Art Director and be part of its growing team. Karta’s campaigns have creativity and innovation at their core and it's an incredible opportunity to help develop new ideas as part of Karta’s unique vision for brands.”

The new hires mark the latest development for the fast-growing startup, which launched its own bespoke Fortnite and Zepeto studios in the last year to service the growing demand on these platforms. Also in the past year, Karta has worked with global musicians like Nicki Minaj, for her ‘Gag City’ experience in Roblox, K-Pop giants BLACKPINK with their hugely popular ‘BLACKPINK THE PALACE’ and TWICE, with their ‘TWICE Square’ - becoming the most visited music experience in Roblox history. 

Since launching in 2021, Karta has built a respected client roster of global brands including Amazon Music, McDonald’s, Spotify and most recently HUGO BOSS - which launched the latest update to its PLANET HUGO experience in Roblox with the HUGO GARAGE. Through these partnerships, Karta is reshaping entertainment experiences in the metaverse and creating meaningful connections between brands and their audiences. As well as working with musicians and global brands, Karta creates UGC gaming experiences with its own IP, including its popular BeatBuilder music rhythm game in Fortnite, which reached over 100k players in the first three weeks.

Tony Barnes, CGO of Karta, adds: “We welcome these five brilliant new hires at a really exciting time. There’s still a tremendous amount of potential for musicians and brands across the metaverse and UGC gaming, and with these talented industry professionals we’re looking forward to creating more experiences and reaching new audiences.”

With its new hires, the studio will expand its services with new hires working across upcoming projects, details of which will be announced soon. Karta is also going into a new funding round, where they aim to expand and introduce new opportunities. For more information, go to www.karta.game.

ENDS - 

 

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About Karta

Karta is an award-winning metaverse studio that helps brands, artists and sports teams connect with the billions of people that inhabit the world’s most popular virtual worlds. With a marketer mindset and over 50 years of experience in gaming, music and esports, Karta has carved a new, accessible and effective way for brands to build long-term presence and achieve real tangible success within the metaverse. The London-based company was founded in July 2021 by ex-Fnatic Erik Londré and music business veteran Tony Barnes.