RealNetworks today announced that Atul Bali, a 20-year gaming industry vet, will head up the company’s video game division beginning later this month.
Bali was previously the CEO of Aristocrat Technologies, a company that supports land-based and online gaming solutions. He’ll be in charge of RealNetworks’ game portfolio, which includes the GameHouse — formerly RealGames — and Zylom distribution networks, in addition to the Slingo brand.
“We are delighted to have Atul join Real and lead our games business into the future,” Rob Glaser, chairman and interim CEO of RealNetworks, said in a statement. “Atul is a widely respected leader in the land-based and digital gaming spaces with deep expertise, strong relationships, proven leadership skills, and a passion for games. He is precisely the right person to lead the reinvention of our games business.”
Bali succeeds Matt Hulett, a Seattle tech veteran who left RealNetworks about one year ago to become CEO of ClickBank.
The company also announced today that Scott Uomoto will resign as Senior Vice President of the RealPlayer Group in June to relocate is family to California after 13 years with RealNetworks.
“I’ve loved my time at Real and I’m incredibly proud of what our team has done, especially our reinvention over the past 18
months of the RealPlayer,” Uomoto said in a statement. “While there’s much more to do, I’m very confident that our excellent team will do a great job driving the RealPlayer Cloud product and business forward.”
RealNetworks, founded in Seattle back in 1995, has shifted its gaming strategy from downloadable casual games to the new world of social and free-to-play games — going up against stiff competition from some of the giants of the industry. The company as a whole has gone through some serious changes in the past few years, from big cutbacks to the launch of several products and a new place to call home.
RealNetworks’ games division posted $11.7 million in revenue with an operating loss of $3.4 million last quarter. The company suffered a $57.4 million net loss overall in 2013.
