Alexander McKinney-Raphelt has spent 20+ years convincing pixels to behave, artists to believe in themselves, and stakeholders to trust the process. As Studio Art Director at Next Games (Netflix), he leads art direction across a portfolio of first-party and third-party titles, having previously shaped the visual identity of globally beloved games like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Epic Games / Mediatonic), directed a AAA Star Wars mobile title at NaturalMotion, and led art on mobile hits Dragon City and Monster Legends at Take-Two/Social Point.

Along the way he's managed and mentored art teams of 60+ people, built career frameworks that actually make sense, and served as Head of Art at Ready Player Me, where he helped define what a digital avatar even is. As Innovation Manager at InnoGames, he built a "failure culture" on purpose, on the theory that the fastest way to a good idea is through several confidently bad ones.

Alexander lives at the intersection of art, tech, and player psychology, is fluent in both Unreal and Unity, and has an unreasonably deep understanding of why players actually quit a level. Off the clock, he's probably lifting something heavy or arguing that a beat is, in fact, fire.

He believes the best art direction is equal parts vision, taste, and knowing exactly when to say "ship it."