Former Epic Games vice president Steve Allison has joined Saber Interactive as chief business officer.
In his new role, Allison will oversee the developer’s publishing, marketing, and revenue opportunities. He will report directly to Saber CEO Matthew Karch.
“I have been extremely impressed with what Matt, Andrey and Anton have built over the years,” said Allison. “Saber’s strength is the talented studios that build high-quality games at 30 to 50% the cost of industry norms.
“The upcoming slate is exceptional with Space Marine 3, Jurassic Park, Turok, Hellraiser, the upcoming John Wick game and several unannounced projects that we can talk about very soon. It’s an honour to join Matt and the team as Saber enters this transformative period.”
Allison has over thirty years of industry experience, having spearheaded the creation and launch of the Epic Games Store and its third-party publishing division.
We spoke to Allison earlier this year about his vision for the platform, and how its infrastructure still has room for improvement.
Before joining Epic, Allison served as SVP of publishing at Telltale for over eight years. He was also chief marketing officer and SVP at Midway Games and spent more than a decade at Atari in roles including vice president of marketing and business development.
“Steve Allison has done more to shape and modernise the game industry than anyone else I know,” said Karch.
“He has created major companies, developed new platforms and spearheaded bestselling IP. He is not only one of the most knowledgeable and experienced individuals in games, but he is also incredibly handsome – a trait we were sorely lacking after leaving Aspyr with Embracer. We are lucky to have him help lead Saber into the next phase of our journey, even if I need to avoid joint photo ops.”
Saber Interactive was previously owned by Embracer, which acquired the developer in 2020 for $525 million.
It was then sold in 2024 for $247 million in a deal where Embracer divested several assets from Saber to Beacon Interactive, a company founded by Saber’s co-founder and CEO Karch.
Sabre retained several studios, including Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Sandbox Strategies, New World Interactive, Slipgate, Mad Head Games, Fractured Byte, and DIGIC.
The developer then secured funding to help clear debt to Embracer, with Aleph Capital Partners and Crestview Partners investing an undisclosed sum in the company.
