Jonathan Knight Expands Role to Chief Games Officer at The New York Times

Jonathan Knight has been promoted to chief games officer at The New York Times, expanding his leadership of the publication's games division. Knight announced the move on LinkedIn, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to continue supporting the Times and its mission.

Knight joined the Times in September 2020 as SVP and Head of Games. In that role, he has overseen the expansion of the games operation, including the high-profile acquisition and integration of Wordle in 2022. He manages the publishing pipeline for daily games including The New York Times Crossword, Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands and Pips, as well as handling P&L responsibilities.

Among his achievements at the Times, Knight created and launched Crossplay, the publication's first two-player competitive word game, which reached No. 1 on the Top Free Games chart.

Before joining the Times, Knight spent more than two decades in the games industry holding senior positions. At Warner Bros. Games, he served as VP and studio head in San Francisco, leading more than 100 developers on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and launching DC Legends. Previously at Zynga, he was SVP of games overseeing the Ville and With Friends divisions with more than 300 employees, and brought FarmVille to mobile. At Electronic Arts, he spent more than nine years as VP and Executive Producer working on The Sims and The Simpsons Game, and served as executive producer and director for Dante's Inferno. He began his career at Activision as a producer on titles including Return to Castle Wolfenstein.