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Dan Ayoub, a former head at Halo studio 343 Industries, has joined the independent game studio Certain Affinity to become its VP of Canadian operations and Toronto GM. Ayoub has more than 20 years of experience in gaming, including many years working as external studio head for 343 Industries. This is a homecoming of sorts for Ayoub, as Ayoub was Certain Affinity’s “main point of contact” at 343 when he was working there.
Certain Affinity has been working with Microsoft for more than a decade on the Halo brand, developing map packs and more for the juggernaut series across numerous installments.
In his new role at Certain Affinity, Ayoub will oversee the studio’s new Canadian unit and lead its studio in Toronto. He will also head up business development and marketing/PR for the entire company.
“A Lebanese Canadian born and raised in Montreal, Dan brings extensive game development experience from Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Disney, and Ubisoft. He comes to CA from Microsoft, where he has been serving as Director of Education for several years,” Certain Affinity said in a news release. “Outside of his career, Dan is a passionate advocate for education and the power of games for learning and social impact, and also serves on the Board of Directors of Games for Change. Dan has been an avid gamer since playing Pong for the first time as a kid and is passionate about helping teams achieve their goals, growing the industry as a whole, and making games accessible to everyone.”
Certain Affinity is growing fast–the company recently exceeded 250 full-time employees at its Austin and Toronto locations. “We look forward to his guiding expertise as we continue to grow with more and more ambitious lead development, and co-development projects, in the future,” Certain Affinity said.
Certain Affinity was founded in 2006 by former Bungie developer Max Hoberman and a series of other Halo developers. One of its latest projects is Halo Infinite, which it is co-developing with 343. The game is finally releasing this fall.
