Jeff Adams

I've led everything from small strike teams to full studios of developers across internal and external productions. I know how to give direction that lands, run a creative process without bureaucratic drag, and mentor artists who go on to do their best work. Getting people with different disciplines and priorities moving in the same creative direction is where I genuinely thrive — and where I've seen the most lasting impact.

“The best part of leading a team is watching someone level up and own it. I've been lucky to see that happen more than once.”

From campaign-driven action-adventure to the always-on demands of live service, I've directed art across the full spectrum of AAA game types. Building a visual identity that carries through a 15-hour story is a different challenge than keeping a live game looking fresh three seasons in — and I've had to solve both, often on the same franchise. That range is something I lean into.

“Tomb Raider taught me the former. Marvel's Avengers taught me the latter. Both taught me a lot about players.”

I've lived IP work as both guardian and interpreter. With Tomb Raider, I was the one setting the visual bar — making sure every co-dev, licensed integration, and piece of merchandise looked and felt like it actually belonged to the franchise. With Marvel's Avengers, I was on the other side, earning trust by respecting one of the world's most scrutinized visual identities while still bringing something genuinely new. Having done both makes me a better creative partner wherever I sit in that relationship.

“Knowing what it feels like to be the licensor makes you a much more thoughtful licensee — and vice versa.”

environments, props, lighting studies — across years of production at EA and Crystal Dynamics. But even then I was thinking like a director — building style briefs, running deep reference dives, and sharing visual knowledge with my peers long before it was in my job title. That hands-on background shapes how I direct today: I know exactly what I'm asking for, and why.

“Designing Dante as a Crusader remains one of the most creatively ambitious projects of my career. Also, I storyboarded a Depeche Mode music video inside The Sims 2 — a fact I'll always be proud of.”

I've spent years as a visual storyteller, translating written source material from Marvel's universe and the world of Tomb Raider into cinematic sequences that resonate with players and serve the larger narrative. That means understanding pacing, rhythm, and the exact beat where an audience leans in. Most art directors don't have this depth. I do.

“On Rise of the Tomb Raider, sketch art became a transformative tool for developing cinematic action sequences — loose, fast drawings that unlocked creative decisions no written description could.”