I'm Mike Sanders
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Experienced game developer and studio founder with 23+ years leading creative teams to deliver high-quality games across multiple platforms and genres.
About Me
I’m a founder, executive, and people and product leader who’s spent much of my life building games with talented teams. I care deeply about authenticity, empowerment, craftsmanship, and curiosity, and I’m driven to create high-quality, innovative games with people who share those values.
Years in Games
Projects Affected
Happy Teammates
Games I've Worked On
What I Do
Studio Leadership
Executive oversight of teams, studios, and products. Leading with clarity, empathy, and long-term vision to scale organizations and sustain creative momentum.
Game Production
End-to-end ownership of planning, scheduling, budgeting, and milestone delivery. Skilled in aligning cross-functional teams and keeping development on track.
Product Direction
Shaping product strategy through player insights, monetization, retention, and acquisition metrics. Ensuring features align with business and player outcomes.
Game Design
Designing core loops, mechanics, and progression systems that create satisfying, sustainable gameplay experiences.
Technical Operations
Building and maintaining pipelines, CI/CD workflows, and deployment systems. Supporting teams through automation, tooling, and scalable infrastructure.
Quality & Process
Driving QA strategy, cross-team coordination, and process optimization. Focused on improving quality, reducing risk, and increasing team velocity.
My Past Work
A journey through game development and studio operations
Interactive timeline with detailed project history
Select Projects
Get in Touch
Message Below
Available upon request
Raleigh, NC, USA
After nearly two years, I’ve made the difficult decision to depart Carbonated Inc., stepping down from my role as Chief Development Officer.
The next 6 months will be incredibly transformative for me, and I love Gamescom, and especially Germany, so very much. 🎮🇩🇪
I have to admit, I'm anxious about the future of the #gamedev industry. It's a feeling that of a pit in my stomach, with a heart that feels always racing.
If you're a studio founder or game dev exec (CEO, COO, CTO, CCO, etc.), you should be in the GameDev Executive Support (GDES) group.
You're welcome to disagree with me, but if we want to move past the constant 🪑armchair takes on games, budgets, or hashtag#design from people who’ve never shipped anything...
The Nintendo Switch 2 should be free in America, with a $449 introductory year subscription.
Mouse died two days ago, so I replaced it. Only just realized yesterday that it was 20 years old.