Emma Bridle
Redmond,WA
Summary
Leader with 13 years of extensive experience in strategic gaming communications and campaign planning for leading franchises. Builds cross-functional models to align product, marketing, PR, Creators and community. Advises executives on player insights and analytics to inform strategic decisions. Passionate people manager, cross-discipline collaborator, and skilled problem solver.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Player Engagement
World's Edge, XBOX Game Studios
Redmond, Washington
09.2019 - Current
- Directed integrated communications strategy for player engagement and customer relationship management across Age of Empires franchise.
- Led communications for 8 global game launches, 23 DLC releases, and hundreds of live-service updates across Steam, XBOX, PS5, Windows and mobile.
- Translated player behavior and sentiment analysis into executive recommendations, building launch strategies and investment priorities.
- Established KPI frameworks to measure audience growth, sentiment, engagement, conversion rates, pre-orders, purchases, and retention metrics, aligning team efforts with strategic goals.
- Led multidisciplinary teams in community management, customer support, and marketing while coordinating PR and development.
- Oversaw departmental operating budget, managing strategic partnerships with agencies like Red Bull and the Louvre to enhance brand visibility and collaboration.
- Mentored emerging leaders and individual contributors, fostering skills that improved team effectiveness and engagement.
- Influenced studio investment planning through established executive reporting cadence and governance.
Engagement Manager
Rare Ltd
Twycross, UK
07.2013 - 09.2019
- Established player insight processes to guide live-service communication strategies, which then served as a template for other XBOX studios.
- Directed communications for Sea of Thieves and heritage IP alongside Product Marketing, PR and game teams.
- Advanced from sole studio Social Media and Community Manager to Engagement Manager, leading broad team managing all facets of player engagement and building strategy.
Education
Master of Arts - Digital Journalism
University of Sheffield
Sheffield, UK01-2013
MA (Cantab) - Theology & Religious Studies
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK01-2010
Skills
- Cross-functional Leadership
- Campaign Planning
- Integrated Communication
- Executive Communication
- Player Insights
- Player Feedback Analysis
- Reporting & Analytics
- Performance Optimization
- Team Management
- Budget Management
- Agency Management
- Crisis Management
Executive Highlights
- Led integrated communications and player engagement strategy supporting a flagship XBOX franchise reaching 75M+ lifetime players.
- Directed engagement ecosystem generating 225M+ annual blog/news views and supporting 100M+ annual franchise viewing hours.
- Delivered integrated communications across 8 game launches, 23 DLC launches and ongoing live-service updates. Experience managing both heritage and new IP.
- Built scalable campaign planning, launch readiness and reporting frameworks improving cross-functional alignment and executive visibility.
- Pioneered groundbreaking partnerships - first gaming partnership at the Louvre and first esports event at the Royal Albert Hall.
- Trusted advisor to XBOX VP/CVP leadership, presenting launch readiness, communications strategy and audience insights.
- Led an engagement organization representing up to 30% of studio headcount while aligning Community, Customer Support, Marketing, PR and external partners.
- Established KPI frameworks using tools like Google Analytics, Power BI, Sprout Social and Sprinklr.
- Managed departmental operating budget and agency partnerships.
Timeline
Director of Player Engagement
World's Edge, XBOX Game Studios
09.2019 - Current
Engagement Manager
Rare Ltd
07.2013 - 09.2019
Master of Arts - Digital Journalism
University of Sheffield
MA (Cantab) - Theology & Religious Studies
University of Cambridge