Ryan Payton

Ryan Payton is the founder and Studio Director of Camouflaj, an independent game development company based in Bellevue, Washington.

Background and Education

Ryan Payton graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and International Affairs, with a focus on Japanese and business.1

Career

• Early Career: Payton began his career in video game journalism, working as a Japanese correspondent for publications such as XBN Nation, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and 1UP.com from 2003 to 2005.3
• Konami: He joined Konami in 2005 and worked as a producer on several games, including Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and Lunar Knights. During his time at Konami, he was recruited by Hideo Kojima to help "westernize" aspects of the Metal Gear Solid franchise.3
• Microsoft: In 2008, Payton moved to Microsoft's 343 Industries, where he served as the Creative Director for an unannounced Halo project and as a narrative designer for Halo 4. He left Microsoft in 2011 to start his own studio.13
• Camouflaj: Founded in 2011, Camouflaj is known for developing high-quality, meaningful games. The studio's first game was RÉPUBLIQUE, released in five episodes across various platforms. They also developed MARVEL'S IRON MAN VR for PlayStation VR, which won several awards. Recently, Camouflaj released BATMAN: ARKHAM SHADOW for Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S.124

Recent Developments

In the summer of 2022, Camouflaj was acquired by Meta and became a first-party studio within Oculus Studios, continuing to focus on creating high-quality VR games.1

Other Roles

Payton has also served as an advisor for several game development funds, including the Makers Fund and Kowloon Nights Fund.1

Personal and Professional Attributes

He is known for his creative vision, pragmatic business approach, and honesty in feedback. Payton thinks big and focuses on long-term goals for the future of gaming.1