01Record

Evidence from the work

Built, led, sold and shipped.

My advisory practice is grounded in operating experience: studio acquisitions, technical leadership at Epic Games and credits across several generations of hardware.

30+years in games and technology
3studio acquisitions navigated
15+major titles shipped
50+developers led at peak

02Credits

A few names from the credits.

Useful context for the experience behind the advice.

Destruction Derby

Reflections / Scavenger · 1994–96

Early work on one of the PlayStation era’s defining real-time 3D games - an enduring calling card for a generation of players.

Test Drive

Pitbull Syndicate · 1996–2005

Part of the long studio-building period that combined hands-on programming with the realities of growing a specialist team.

Wheelman

Midway Games · 2005–09

Engine-level performance work across PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as lead optimisation programmer.

Unreal Engine

Epic Games UK · 2010–15

Technical leadership at Epic Games UK, contributing to Unreal Engine 4 and the work around it.

Fortnite

Epic Games · 2010–15

Work at Epic Games during Fortnite’s development, alongside engine and studio leadership work.

Sea of Thieves

Coconut Lizard · 2015–21

Co-development work from Coconut Lizard: practical collaboration on a living game at scale.

Conan: Exiles

Coconut Lizard · 2015–21

Another Coconut Lizard partnership, balancing delivery discipline with the demands of an evolving, player-facing game.

03Career

Thirty years, in order.

DinoSlothFounder & Managing Director

Leads an independent game-engineering and delivery practice.

Coconut LizardCo-founder & Managing Director

Built a specialist co-development studio, partnered on Sea of Thieves and Conan Exiles, then led its sale to Keywords Studios.

Pitbull Studio / Epic Games UKFounder / General Manager

Founded Pitbull Studio, sold it to Epic Games and led the UK operation contributing to Unreal Engine 4 and Epic titles.

CCP GamesSenior Rendering Programmer

Led rendering performance and optimisation work on Dust 514 for PlayStation 3 using Unreal Engine 3.

Midway GamesLead Optimisation Programmer

Worked on engine-level performance for Wheelman across PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Pitbull SyndicateCo-founder & Lead Xbox/PC Programmer

Built the studio and led programming across Test Drive, Demolition Racer and LA Rush before its acquisition by Midway.

Reflections / ScavengerProgrammer / Engine Programmer

Worked on Destruction Derby and a ground-up real-time 3D engine during the transition to PlayStation-era development.

Download the full career record (PDF) ↗

04Press

Coverage along the way.

Contemporary trade and regional press on the studios I founded and ran. Select a clipping to read it full size.

GamesIndustry.biz · Jul 2010
Pitbull Studio formation GamesIndustry.biz · Aug 2010
Pitbull adds two key hires GamesIndustry.biz · Feb 2011
New offices and hires GamesIndustry.biz · Jun 2011
Big Top wins NHS innovation award GamesIndustry.biz · Apr 2012
“Tax breaks could come back to bite us” GamesIndustry.biz · Nov 2012
Pitbull opens in Guildford GamesIndustry.biz · Feb 2013
Are developers sold on PS4? GamesIndustry.biz · Jun 2013
Larger Guildford office GamesIndustry.biz · Aug 2014
Epic Games UK formed Develop · Mar 2016
Coconut Lizard hires Business Quarter · Mar 2016
Growth ahead for Coconut Lizard Evening Chronicle · Mar 2016
Anticipating rapid growth Insider Media · Mar 2016
Coconut Lizard contract wins Northern Echo · Mar 2016
Gaming firm aims to move up a level GamesIndustry.biz · Jan 2017
Coconut Lizard hires six from Epic GamesIndustry.biz · Oct 2020
Tools to identify bottlenecks

Next step

Bring the decision into focus.

Based in Thailand, working with founders, boards and leadership teams worldwide.

Start a conversation

Email me me@roberttroughton.co.uk LinkedIn Profile ↗ (new tab) Career record Download PDF ↗ (new tab)