Disney has snagged Apple 12-year veteran Mark Bozon, who will serve as VP for Disney’s cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling initiative, which apparently encompasses the company’s metaverse strategy. Variety initially reported the news, and Bozon today confirmed his new position in a LinkedIn post.
Bozon, who most recently served as the creative director of games for Apple Arcade, announced in a May 20 tweet that he was leaving the company. He didn’t specify at the time where he was heading, only that he was “headed to an absolute dream job.”
Bozon will be responsible for leading Next Generation Storytelling’s creative vision, Variety wrote, as well as building a multidisciplinary team across Disney’s various businesses – including gaming, film and TV.
Prior to joining Apple, Bozon worked for about 14 years as a freelance game designer and producer, his LinkedIn profile shows. He also served for four years as the Nintendo editor for IGN Entertainment.
Disney as of late has beefed up its executive leadership. Jeremy Doig joined Disney Streaming in March as chief technology officer. Disney exec Mike White, who hired Bozon, was recently tapped by CEO Bob Chapek to coordinate the company’s metaverse efforts, Variety reported.
The metaverse is a hot topic throughout the media industry, so it comes as no surprise Disney’s itching to get into the action. Chapek told CNBC in February he thinks the metaverse is a “third dimension of the canvas” for Disney’s creative strategy, and that the company’s physical park assets offers an advantage in the metaverse field.
“If the metaverse is the blending of the physical and the digital in one environment, who can do it better than Disney?” Chapek said to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.
It’s not yet clear what Disney’s metaverse plans are for its streaming service, but the company meanwhile continues to up its technology game. Disney in April struck a partnership with Lumen to produce standardized metadata for content delivery networks. By leveraging Lumen tech, Disney aims to heighten the viewing experience.
In other recent news, Disney-owned Hulu entered a partnership that includes streaming rights for several upcoming live music festivals.