Computer Games Industry Attracts Royal Honour

The New Year’s Honours roll for the Queen isn’t just filled with the military personnel and eminent names in the business sphere, but some of the prominent figures from the gaming industry too have paved their way into the coveted list.

The chief executive for the popular game maker Codemaster, Rodney Cousens, was selected, along with three other well-known personalities of the gaming domain, for the prestigious awards.

Cousens, who has been in the gaming business for almost 29 years, will receive the esteemed CBE for “services to the computer games industry”. He has also worked for Acclaim and Activision before joining Codemaster as its chief executive officer.

Codemaster is widely popular in the gaming industry for its range of games, which include the likes of Lord of the Rings PC game, Dragon Rising, Fuel, and Operation Flashpoint.

The other dignitary who would get an OBE is Paul Stafford. Currently, he is working with rail simulator games firm RailWorks, and has already served as the chief of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA).

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In addition to Cousen and Stafford, the two other figures include the brothers behind the famous Championship Manager series, namely Oliver and Paul Collyer; the duo will receive the MBE.