PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT
FOCUS ENTERTAINMENT: AHMED BOUKHELIFA APPOINTED DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT, IN CHARGE OF THE STUDIOS

Paris, 18 April 2024, 5.45 pm

AHMED BOUKHELIFA APPOINTED DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
OF PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT, IN CHARGE OF THE STUDIOS

PARIS, FRANCE – 18 April 2024 – Fabrice Larue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Geoffroy Sardin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT (FR0012419307 ALPUL) group, a major player in the video game publishing and development industry, announce the appointment of Ahmed Boukhelifa as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of the Studios, starting from April 15, 2024.

With 27 years’ experience managing development studios and launching successful franchises such as Rayman, Test Drive Unlimited and The Crew, Ahmed Boukhelifa brings his expertise in the video game sector to the PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT group and its studios.

Ahmed Boukhelifa will also join PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT’s Executive Committee, comprising Fabrice Larue, Geoffroy Sardin, John Bert, Cyrille Imbert, Laure d’Hauteville and Philippe Perthuis.

“We are delighted to welcome Ahmed Boukhelifa to the management team,” said Geoffroy Sardin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer. “His rich experience in the development of successful franchises will help strengthen and accelerate our position as a major European player with an ambitious strategy of creating and developing franchises in our studios.”

“I am delighted to be joining the PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT group, a world-renowned player in the discovery of talent and innovative, authentic and memorable gaming experiences,” added Ahmed Boukhelifa. “I am honored to accompany and collaborate with the group’s 400 talented developers and creators, who have always been uncompromising about quality and listening to their gaming community.“

Ahmed Boukhelifa biography

After graduating from ESSEC Business School in 1995, Ahmed Boukhelifa joined Ubisoft Entertainment in 1997 and worked as producer on the iconic Rayman video game franchise. In 2003, following the successful launch of Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, he left Ubisoft Entertainment to join the Eden Games studio, where he worked with the development team on Test Drive Unlimited, nominated for a DICE Award for Best Racing Game of the year in 2006. In 2007, he co-founded the Ivory Tower studio, which he headed for over 16 years, giving birth to the The Crew franchise in 2014. In 2015, his studio joined Ubisoft to become the spearhead of its online driving games. In 2023, Ahmed Boukhelifa released the latest opus of The Crew Motorfest series, a franchise with over 40 million players.

About PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT

With over 600 employees based mainly in Europe, the PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT group has a growing catalog of franchises owned or controlled via :

1. Four publishing structures :

• FOCUS ENTERTAINMENT PUBLISHING, one of the world’s leading video game publishers, renowned for its premium production services, marketing, and communications support tailored to each project and audience. The company publishes international hits such as A Plague Tale, SnowRunner and the eagerly awaited Space Marine 2.
• DOTEMU, leading publisher and developer in the thriving independent games scene, specializing in the production of cult licensed games with international appeal. DOTEMU is the producer and publisher of such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Street of Rage 4, which have sold millions of copies worldwide.
• DECK13 INTERACTIVE, one of Germany’s leading developers based in Frankfurt develops award-winning, large-scale productions for consoles and PC. With DECK13 SPOTLIGHT the team has also established a publishing service that helps independent developers bring their projects to wider audiences.
• THE ARCADE CREW, producer and publisher of awesome indie and innovative games from creative teams around the world. The Crew’s iconic projects include Blazing Chrome and Vengeful Guardian Moonrider from JoyMasher, Infernax from Berzerk Studios, The Last Spell from Ishtar Games and Young Souls from 1P2P.

2. Eight game development and audiovisual production studios :

• DOVETAIL GAMES, a UK-based studio and world leader in rail simulation games.
• DECK13 INTERACTIVE, voted Best Video Game Development Studio in Germany in 2023 and creator of the successful The Surge franchise.
• BLACKMILL GAMES, the Netherlands-based studio behind the World War One series franchise of multiplayer shooters such as Verdun, Tannenberg and Isonzo.
• LEIKIR STUDIO, based in France, developer of a highly anticipated game based on the iconic Metal Slug license.
• STREUM ON STUDIO, a French studio specializing and renowned in the development of first-person shooters, currently working on an original creation.
• DOUZE DIXIÈMES, a French studio composed of passionate creators from the animated film and video game industries. Their latest entry being Shady Part of Me, acclaimed by critics and gamers alike.
• CARPOOL STUDIO, a French studio created by recognized industry veterans developing a highly ambitious game-as-a-service project based on new intellectual property.
• SCRIPTEAM, an audiovisual production company whose main purpose is to adapt the PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT group’s video game licenses into series or feature films.

All financial information pertaining to PULLUP ENTERTAINMENT can be found at www.pullupent.com