Useful Studios

A Useful Studio intent on making change happen that isn't guaranteed or obvious. Watch this space.

Founder

PlayTreks

I'm an early investor in PlayTreks, an ML/AI-driven SaaS data analytics company for the music, media and entertainment industry, offering  solutions for musicians and artists everywhere.

Seed Investor

Dlala Studios

I'm an early investor in Dlala, an award-winning independent games studio started by some of the brightest and most dedicated people I've ever met in the gaming industry.

Unity

- Leading an internal game studio with designers, artists and engineers.
- Inspiring and creating games for Unity professional services customers.

Studio Head - Solid Studios - A Unity game studio

- Led teams, strategy and partnerships for strategic parts of centralised tooling and process within Unity R&D
- Leader for the infra and on-prem data centre group within Unity's internal engineering services group.
- Established continuous improvement of systems, productivity and success through a focus on people's strengths and leadership capability.

Senior Engineering Manager - Unity Developer Effectiveness 

- Leadership of quality engineering focused on Core technology and Release.
- Coached and directed quality managers for release and sustainment, resulting in positive growth in terms of a direct impact on customers
- Established a Customer QA function with the team in Lithuania. Hiring a strong manager to build and direct technical teams on solving customer problems through code and issue management
- Working with VP of Core engineering and engineering directors - resulting in clear quality built-in strategies and closer partnerships with release & quality engineering

Head of Quality Eng: Core & Release Eng

Microsoft

- Leadership of Microsoft teams across several key XBOX franchises and development studios/locations: Quality-focused engineering for Forza Horizon, Minecraft & Sea of Thieves
- Transitioned teams away from conventional games testing to a world where everyone was responsible for the quality of their work. 
- Encouraged and developed a team culture where trust was increased and performance was measured not just from results, it came from how much others were helped along the way.
-  Increasing impact and quality of teams and deliverables while also eliminating waste & reducing costs by 30%
- Established long term partnerships, frameworks, deliverables and measurements with internal and external quality partners (vendors, contractors)

Principal Software Engineering Manager -  Xbox Game Studios

- Head of quality teams for Europe Microsoft Studios & Minecraft globally
- Transitioning mindset from test focus to quality engineering focus
- Led the direction for distributed teams across Lionhead studios, Rare, Minecraft & Turn10 publishing

Senior Software Engineering Manager - Microsoft Studios

- Head of Eng quality & release at Lift London Studios
-Established a consumer operations team focused on entertainment as a service, ensuring community management, customer service, test, and release were fully integrated, giving the customer a voice across the studio
- Established a test engineering function resulting in an improved test bias across key  development functions
- Restructured release from a discipline to a process – reducing headcount need and overall cost

Senior Program Manager - Lift London (a Microsoft game studio)

Test and quality leadership for entertainment franchises and propositions at Microsoft studios

- Introduced and implemented agile test management methods into teams
- Managed multi million dollar test projects, completing on time and under budget
- Directed large and distributed test teams across parallel product
- All projects released through certification first time without failure
- Top in manager feedback 3 years running

Projects: Fable 3, Fable: Coin Golf, Fable Heroes, Fable: The Journey

Senior Test lead - Microsoft Game Studios

Electronic Arts

- Developed and implemented key specialist testing principles for EA Europe
- Created new and innovative QA consultancy and release processes, reducing cost and increasing submission success
- Managed local and distributed teams driving solutions for QA & test on EA franchises such as Burnout, Battlefield, Crysis & Harry Potter

Senior QA Manager (QA shared services) - EA Europe

QA manager - multi-platform certification, multiplayer labs and technical testing

QA Technical compliance manager (specialist testing) - EA Europe

QA Technical supervisor - EAUK

From writing my first game on my home computer as a young boy, to leadership in the gaming industry as an adult.

After joining Electronic Arts I focused on building effective teams and integrating creative gaming passion, doing more with less, and engineering principles for problem solving. My journey continued with Xbox at Microsoft, where I contributed to iconic games such as Fable, Forza and Minecraft. 

At Xbox, I evolved into a specialist in modern game development & test. The world of gaming engines beckoned next, leading me to Unity Technologies. My role there expanded beyond gaming content, delving into technical aspects of Unity's game engine and then merging both engine and content where I created and led an internal game studio making games for Unity customers.

Outside of my work, I'm a husband and father, and love time with my family. Through my website, marcuspurvis.com, and here on LinkedIn, I create content that emphasizes effective living and making a positive impact, both in and out of work.

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