The Final Boss Every month an industry leader wraps up MCV/DEVELOP with their unique insight
For those not familiar, tell us what Xsolla does?
Xsolla is a global video game commerce company providing developers and publishers with the tools to monetize, distribute, and scale their games. Its platform covers in-game payments, subscriptions, web shops, player acquisition, and cross-platform commerce. By handling payment systems, regional compliance, and storefront technology, Xsolla lets studios focus on building games rather than operational overhead, acting as a backend commerce partner for the industry.
What’s your industry background? My background is rooted in the games industry; I’ve been a gamer my whole life and was lucky enough to turn that passion into a career.
medium forward. I also value the global nature of the industry and the genuine passion of the people in it, everyone is invested in making experiences that truly resonate with players.
What’s your least favourite thing about this industry? Balancing creative ambition with commercial realities. Games are expensive and complex to build, which can lead to short-term thinking that doesn’t always serve the best creative outcome. Market volatility is also tough on teams, especially when projects don’t go as planned. That said, these same pressures are what make the industry dynamic and constantly evolving.
Chris Hewish
I got my start at Games Workshop, then moved to Microprose and Activision, where I spent 13 years watching the company scale from ~100 people to thousands. That’s where I developed a P&L mindset around creative work. After that, I held senior roles at DreamWorks Animation, Survios, and Skydance, where I ran a 130-person studio.
Xsolla was a name I’d known for years, but talking with the
team revealed a side of the industry I hadn’t deeply explored: payments, commerce, empowering developers to reach players directly. The scale was unlike anything I’d seen; thousands of games and developers across every genre and platform. That combination of learning something new while staying close to the industry I love is what drew me in.
What’s your favourite thing about this industry? How creative and fast-moving it is. Games sit at the intersection of art, technology, and community, which creates an environment where you’re always learning and adapting. No two projects are the same, and there’s always a new challenge pushing the
54 | MCV/DEVELOP July/August 2026 President of Xsolla
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I tend to stay close to games and technology, but in a more relaxed way,
playing a wide range of titles both to unwind and to see how other teams are solving design and business challenges. A lot of my downtime is about staying curious and recharging, usually with something interactive or creative in the mix.
What games do you play for pleasure? I gravitate toward competitive and strategy-driven titles, along with anything with strong core mechanics and great moment-to- moment gameplay. I’ve spent a lot of time with Apex Legends, I love its fast pace, teamwork dynamics, and evolution as a live service. I also enjoy narrative-driven experiences and indie games, which often push creativity in directions bigger studios don’t explore.
What are you most excited about for the rest of 2026? How quickly the industry is maturing around new production tools and business models. Developers are rethinking how games are built
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