ABOUT HEAVY IRON STUDIOS

Recognized as a leader in developing mass-market titles for video game consoles, Heavy Iron Studios, Inc. is an independent video game developer based in Los Angeles, California. Originally founded as a THQ studio in 1999, Heavy Iron has worked in close partnership over the years with creators of high-profile animated feature film and licensed TV properties including Disney*Pixar, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Zuffa/UFC to offer compelling, interactive gaming experiences across multiple generations of console platforms. Heavy Iron Studios, Inc. has been a wholly independent and privately held company since June 2009, with a combined lifetime total of over 35 million units in sales, generating over $500 million in revenue, and counting!
Some of Heavy Iron’s previous hit titles include SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Incredibles, UFC Trainer, and all three Disney Infinity games.
Separating from THQ in 2009, Heavy Iron quickly found its footing as an independent studio, branching out into the company’s first gesture recognition title, UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System for the Xbox 360 Kinect, PS3 Move, and Wii. To this day, it is one of the top five highest rated fitness games on Metacritic, and also won “Best Alternative Sports Game of E3 2011” from 1UP.com.
The next major frontier for Heavy Iron Studios was the 2012 Wii U launch title, Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. With Epic Mickey’s unique storytelling, distinct style, and creative gameplay widely praised by critics, copies of the game sold out on Disney’s own website within hours of its release, and Heavy Iron was thrilled to join forces with the House of Mouse to bring Mickey’s adventures to the next Nintendo console, Wii U.
Heavy Iron’s contributions to the Disney Infinity franchise continued in 2014, with the release of Disney Infinity: 2.0 (Marvel Superheroes Edition) for the PC in October, and for iOS in November of 2014. Adding select characters from the expansive Marvel Universe and Disney Originals to the new Disney Infinity, the 2.0 Edition was both wildly acclaimed and sought-after, with high pre-orders of figures like Rocket Raccoon outselling toys from its predecessor. The advent of Apple’s Metal software brought even more improvements to Disney Infinity: Marvel Superheroes (2.0 Edition), and took Heavy Iron Studios’ role as a key partner in the franchise’s ongoing development to the next level.
2015 proved to be another banner year for Heavy Iron, with the studio completing its work on Disney Infinity 3.0. The third (and most anticipated) iteration of the Infinity series was released on August 30th and features characters and content from all over Disney’s staggering roster, including Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Heavy Iron was thrilled to provide the iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire HDX versions of the game, which continues to enjoy tremendous success as a leading title in video game entertainment for kids (and adults!) of all ages.
Another milestone in 2015 was the release of Heavy Iron’s first original IP, an action-puzzler game called Fat City. Initially released in June for the Wii U, Fat City has since been made available on all major platforms, including PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and Facebook. The heist-themed brainteaser was also selected for participation in Casual Connect’s Indie Prize competition, and was one of ID@XBOX’s featured titles at Microsoft’s Pre-Pax Open House in August.
Thanks to an amazing team of employees, great partnerships, and incredible fans, Heavy Iron Studios celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2014, and its 6th anniversary as an independent studio in 2015. With Disney Infinity 3.0 continuing to garner accolades (including a nomination for The Game Awards 2015’s “Best Family Game”) and several top-secret projects in the pipeline, Heavy Iron is eagerly looking forward to new game releases in the near future.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

LYLE HALL

PRESIDENT & CEO

A 30-year game industry veteran, Lyle oversees Heavy Iron Studios. Before joining the studio in 2002, Lyle created and produced original and licensed properties while working at DreamWorks SKG, Crystal Dynamics and Virgin Games. Highlights include the first 32-bit character action game, GEX; Westwood Studios’ original RTS, Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty; and T’ai-Fu: Wrath of the Tiger, which inspired the Kung Fu Panda films. At Heavy Iron, Lyle also serves as Executive Producer on all titles, directing production and development across multiple game studios and managing the key relationships. In 2009, Lyle single-handedly took Heavy Iron independent and founded Heavy Iron Studios, Inc., and in September 2020, he sold the company to Keywords Studios, with Heavy Iron becoming a wholly owned subsidiary.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

LYLE HALL

PRESIDENT & CEO

A 29-year game industry veteran, Lyle oversees Heavy Iron Studios, Inc. Before joining the studio in 2002, Lyle created and produced original and licensed properties while working at DreamWorks SKG, Crystal Dynamics and Virgin Games. Highlights include the first 32-bit character action game, GEX; Westwood Studio’s original RTS, Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty; and T’ai-Fu: Wrath of the Tiger, which inspired the Kung-Fu Panda films. At Heavy Iron, Lyle has also served as Executive Producer on all the Disney*Pixar and SpongeBob SquarePants titles, directing production and development across multiple game studios and managing the key relationships with these illustrious media companies. In 2009, Lyle single-handedly took Heavy Iron independent and founded Heavy Iron Studios, Inc.

RON MORAVEK

VP BUSINESS & CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

Ron began his video game career in 1997 as a Co-founder and COO of Relic Entertainment. After selling the company to THQ, Ron joined EA Canada as its COO before founding and selling a web-based technology company to Salesforce. He then returned to video games as THQ’s EVP Production, followed by his role as Nexon’s SVP Live Game Operations and a consultancy for Leyou/Athlon Games. Ron joined Heavy Iron in 2018 as VP Biz Dev & Strategy.

RON MORAVEK

VP BIZ DEV & STRATEGY

Ron began his video game career 20 years ago when he co-founded Relic Entertainment as its COO. After selling the company to THQ, Ron joined EA Canada as its COO before founding and selling a web-based technology company to Salesforce. He then returned to video games as THQ’s EVP Production, followed by his role as Nexon’s SVP Live Game Operations and a consultancy for Leyou/Athlon Games. Ron joined Heavy Iron in 2018 as VP Biz Dev & Strategy.

MARK POPE

VP TECHNOLOGY

With over 22 years’ experience in the games industry, Mark has programmed, led and directed many projects across a broad range of hardware and devices including PCs, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles as well as iOS and Android devices. Mark has been with Heavy Iron for 16 years, filling the role early on of lead programmer on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Game and then The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. Soon after, he became Studio Technical Director and now serves as VP of Technology. Outside of the studio, Mark has launched multiple ventures, including websites and his own podcast. He also has taught game programming part time at the Art Institute of Los Angeles to CS baccalaureate students.

MARK POPE

GENERAL MANAGER

With over 20 years’ experience in the games industry, Mark has programmed, led and directed many projects across a broad range of hardware and devices including PCs, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles as well as iOS and Android devices. Mark has been with Heavy Iron for 16 years, filling the role early on of lead programmer on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Game and then The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. Soon after, he became Studio Technical Director and now serves as General Manager. Outside of the studio, Mark has launched multiple ventures, including websites and his own podcast. He also has taught game programming part time at the Art Institute of Los Angeles to CS baccalaureate students.

SCOTT CHIU

STUDIO ART DIRECTOR

Leveraging over twenty years of industry experience working with companies such as Disney*Pixar, Nickelodeon and Amazon Games, Scott is extremely knowledgeable and well-versed in game production and has applied his experience with great effect in leading teams to create successful titles. Prior to his current position, Scott was employed by Spark Unlimited as Project Director and at Heavy Iron as Lead Artist and Art Director. Some of the titles Scott has contributed to include Scooby Doo! Night of 100 Frights, SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie Game, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, SpongeBob’s Truth or Square, UFC Personal Trainer, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, Disney Infinity, and The Grand Tour Game.

SCOTT CHIU

STUDIO ART DIRECTOR

Leveraging twenty years of industry experience working with companies such as Disney*Pixar, Nickelodeon and Amazon Games, Scott is extremely knowledgeable and well-versed in game production and has applied his experience with great effect in leading teams to create successful titles. Prior to his current position, Scott was employed by Spark Unlimited as Project Director and at Heavy Iron as Lead Artist and Art Director. Some of the titles Scott has contributed to include Scooby Doo! Night of 100 Frights, SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie Game, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, SpongeBob’s Truth or Square, UFC Personal Trainer, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, Disney Infinity, and The Grand Tour Game.

CHRIS CROSS

STUDIO DESIGN DIRECTOR

A 25 year industry veteran, Chris Cross is one of an elite group of game directors to have achieved mass-market commercial success across multiple genres and platforms. Best known for his groundbreaking work on the original Medal of Honor series, Chris was appointed Design Director for the entire franchise following its acquisition by Electronic Arts. After reaching lifetime worldwide sales over 50 million units, Cross left EA and joined THQ as Creative Director for their global studio organization where he directly supervised and grew design leadership across 11 internal studios. He later joined Korean publisher Nexon North America where he added mobile and free-to-play experience to his skillset. Chris currently leads Heavy Iron’s creative team and efforts as Studio Design Director.

CHRIS CROSS

STUDIO DESIGN DIRECTOR

A 25 year industry veteran, Chris Cross is one of an elite group of game directors to have achieved mass-market commercial success across multiple genres and platforms. Best known for his groundbreaking work on the original Medal of Honor series, Chris was appointed Design Director for the entire franchise following its acquisition by Electronic Arts. After reaching lifetime worldwide sales over 50 million units, Cross left EA and joined THQ as Creative Director for their global studio organization where he directly supervised and grew design leadership across 11 internal studios. He later joined Korean publisher Nexon North America where he added mobile and free-to-play experience to his skillset. Chris currently leads Heavy Iron’s creative team and efforts as Studio Design Director.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION