Stainless Appoints Ben Gunstone as CEO

Stainless Games, the folks behind that wild Carmageddon series, just shook things up a bit at the top. So, Ben Gunstone is now the head honcho, the big cheese—yeah, he’s the CEO. He’s stepping into Patrick Buckland’s shoes, who’s been the guiding force since, like, ‘94. It’s kind of wild to think about how long that is. Ben’s come a long way pretty fast, though. He hooked up with Stainless in 2022 as a game director, got comfortable, and then, bam, ops director, and now this. Before all this, he was doing his thing at Dovetail Games for a bit. I guess it’s like game dev hopscotch or something.

Ben’s got this to say about his new gig—it’s kinda sweet. Says he’s pumped and a tad humbled. I mean, who wouldn’t be, right? Stepping in after Patrick, who’s basically been the heart and soul for three decades, is no small thing. And here’s the kicker: Patrick isn’t vanishing into the sunset or anything. He’s gonna be hanging around as Executive Chairman, dropping wisdom and probably annoying Ben with a bajillion little tips. Sounded like Stainless really just oozes game-making from its pores, and Ben’s psyched to keep that rolling. Gotta love a bit of passion talk.

Patrick, on the other hand—dude’s turning 62 (which totally cracks me up because he quips about not looking over 70, classic dad joke there)—seems ready to chill out a bit. Trading the full-on chaos of CEO life for something a tad less hectic. Executive Chairman sounds fancy and probably comes with fewer calls after hours. He’s still got the reins, mostly because Stainless is, you know, basically his baby. But handing over the day-to-day grind to Ben is kind of like handing your car keys to someone else for a joyride. Trust must be huge there. Fingers crossed it’s all roses and no speed bumps from here.