Bonnie Ross to Be Inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards
Celebrating the Steward of Halo and Leader in STEM Education
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/DICEAwards?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#DICEAwardslt;/agt;–The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce
its 23rd Hall of Fame recipient, Bonnie Ross, Microsoft
Corporate Vice President and Head of 343 Industries, which oversees the
Halo franchise. Ross has been integral in the vision and expansion of
the Halo franchise that has continued to excite generations of fans,
generating nearly $6 billion in worldwide sales to date and has
transcended video games to grow into a global entertainment phenomenon.
Ross is a key voice in promoting STEM and diversity efforts across the
gaming industry amongst women, under-represented minorities and children.
“It is thanks to Bonnie’s vision and drive for combining art and
technology that has allowed the Halo universe to flourish within so many
different mediums and platforms,” said Meggan Scavio, President, Academy
of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “That along with her deep passion to
expand diversity in gaming and encourage STEM education amongst women as
well as all young people is truly inspirational. Her positive legacy and
leadership have helped advance interactive entertainment and will impact
game makers and aspiring game makers for generations to come.”
The 2019 Hall of Fame Award will be presented to Ross during the 22nd
Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at the
Aria Convention Center in Las Vegas by her long-time colleague and
friend, Phil Spencer, Executive Vice President and Head of Gaming at
Microsoft. The ceremony will once again be hosted by Jessica Chobot of Nerdist
News and Greg Miller of Kinda Funny, and live streamed in its
entirety beginning at 8:00 pm PT/11:00 pm ET via multi-year media
partner IGN Entertainment.
“It’s been a privilege to work alongside Bonnie for more than two
decades, and I have continually been impressed not only by her passion
for merging art and storytelling, but also her equal passion for
creating teams and technical breakthroughs; solid foundations that will
set the direction of Halo and Xbox for years to come,” said Spencer.
“Bonnie’s tenure at Microsoft is more than just a model for aspiring
game makers, it’s a proof of concept that bringing together talented and
diverse voices around a shared, passionate vision, can unleash worlds,
wonders and legends that define entertainment for generations.”
Ross’ interest in technology and gaming began at an early age, where her
pursuit of advanced math and science classes led to a degree in
Technical Communication and a concentration in Physics and Computer
Science. Following college, she landed an internship at IBM before
beginning her profession at Microsoft, first working on operating
systems.
Ross began her career in the games industry in 1994, when Microsoft
created a PC sports gaming division, leading to her first game release
of NBA Full Court Press for Windows. She progressed her career in
gaming in a variety of roles, including producer, lead producer,
executive producer and general manager overseeing production for all
titles within the Microsoft Game Studios portfolio. In these roles, Ross
worked with several leading development studios in the co-development or
publishing of many well-known titles, including Counter-Strike
(Xbox), Dungeon Siege, Fuzion Frenzy, Gears of War, Jade
Empire, Mass Effect, NBA: Inside Drive, Pandora’s
Box, Psychonauts and Zoo Tycoon.
In 2007, when Halo creators Bungie parted ways with Microsoft as a
first-party developer, Ross founded 343 Industries, an entertainment
studio committed to fostering the growth and expansion of the Halo
franchise, as well as driving innovation across Microsoft platforms.
That commitment to building diverse stories and characters has helped
343 Industries create immersive, blockbuster sci-fi entertainment
experiences within the Halo universe. At Microsoft Game Studios and 343
Industries, she has worked with or directly overseen many well-loved
Halo games: Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat
Evolved Anniversary, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo: Spartan
Strike, Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Halo
5: Guardians, Halo Wars 2, Halo: Fireteam Raven and
the upcoming Halo Infinite.
Ross is passionate about bringing together art and technology to
transform how people experience entertainment. Over the last nine years,
she pushed to broaden franchise reach and define Halo as a leader in
transmedia across the entire entertainment industry, including the Halo
series of video games; the upcoming Halo television series by SHOWTIME;
and live-action series, such as Halo: Forward Unto Dawn and Halo:
Nightfall. In addition, 12 of 17 Halo novels have been named to the
New York Times Best Sellers list and Halo consumer products have
generated over $1.5 billion in consumer spend.
Ross is also deeply involved in promoting efforts to drive diversity
across the games industry and generating interest amongst women,
minorities and children in the pursuit of science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) careers. In 1997, she co-founded the
Microsoft Women
in Gaming community as a way for women in the industry to network
and support each other. Beginning as a small cocktail event with roughly
20 attendees, it has since then grown to become an annual lunch at the
Game Developers Conference (GDC) that counts more than 1,500 in
attendance.
Ross was named one of Fortune’s most powerful women in gaming and is a
key part of The Ad Council’s “She Can STEM” campaign.
The AIAS Hall of Fame honor is bestowed on game creators who have been
instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a
particular genre forward. These individuals demonstrate the highest
level of creativity and innovation, resulting in significant product
influence on a scale that expands the scope of the industry. Past AIAS
Hall of Fame recipients include: Todd Howard (2017), Hideo Kojima
(2016), Leslie Benzies (2014), Dan and Sam Houser (2014), and Tim
Sweeney (2012). Additional Hall of Fame honorees can be found at: http://www.interactive.org/special_awards/index.asp.
Tickets to the 2019 D.I.C.E. Summit and 22nd Annual D.I.C.E.
Awards can be purchased at www.dicesummit.org.
Contacts
MEDIA CONTACT:
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Debby
Chen
debby@interactive.org
