Jenova Chen

Jenova Chen is the current President & Creative Director at Thatgamecompany. Jenova has extensive experience in the gaming industry, having worked as a Game Designer, Technical Game Designer Intern, and Lead Artist.

Chen began their career in 2000 as a Lead Artist at WonderGust. In 2003, they transitioned to the Institute of Creative Technology as a Level Designer & Environment Artist Intern. Jenova then became the Lead Artist at Annenberg Communication Center in 2004 and worked on a pilot project for a Russian modernism game.

In 2005, Chen became a Technical Game Designer Intern at Electronic Arts Los Angeles where they worked on game design, digital prototyping, and preproduction for an unannounced Command & Conquer next-gen title. Jenova then moved to USC Game Innovation Lab as a Game Designer and worked on game design and digital prototyping for National Science Foundation serious game project Immune Attack.

In 2006, Chen joined Electronic Arts Maxis as a Game Designer for Spore DS. Jenova then became the President & Creative Director at Thatgamecompany in 2007.

Jenova Chen holds an MFA in Interactive Media from the University of Southern California, a minor in Art & Design from Donghua University, and a BS in Computer Science & Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Some individuals on their team include Jeffrey Exterkate - Principal Engineer, Cecil Kim - Art Director, and Sam McGrath - Principal Engineer.