Looking to grow its operations in North America, UK-based developer and publisher Empire Interactive has announced two new hires to its Austin offices, P.J. Snavely, director of product management, and Zach Rener, director of product marketing. With over 13 years of experience in game production across 10 platforms, Snavely will be facilitating communication with development studios and first-party contacts as director of product management. He will also help identify project opportunities with potential development partners. Prior to joining Empire, Snavely served as a senior producer at Sony Computer Entertainment America for games like NBA PSP and High Velocity Bowling. Rener, Empire’s new director of product marketing, will lead marketing efforts for Empire games published in the U.S. Prior to Empire Interactive, he worked with ON Networks, an Austin online television network, and Aspyr Media, where he worked on a variety of titles across multiple platforms, including Stubbs the Zombie, for which he produced the original soundtrack. Rener has also spent two years working films for Sony and Warner Bros. Said Empire Interactive vice president of sales Karim Farghaly: "Zach and PJ bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the video game industry to their positions with Empire Interactive. It's exciting to have added two such intelligent and energetic individuals to the family as we grow the business in a new territory. Their experience will enable us to provide our North American business partners with outstanding service and quality products for our consumers."