Marcus Graham, formerly of Twitch, joins game developer Fortis

Marcus “djWheat” Graham announced he’s joining new game developer and publisher Fortis. He will be its vice president of community development.

Graham previously worked at Twitch for ten years, having been the site’s nineteenth employee. He was, at different times, the site’s director of programming, head of Twitch Studios, and head of creator development. Before that, he was an early, popular game commentator and shoutcaster. He announced his departure from Twitch in November 2021.

Fortis, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands, launched in March. Its president, Steven Chiang, said of Graham’s involvement, “Marcus has made a career of building communities where none existed before; without him, neither esports or game streaming would look at all like they do today. With our goals to create meaningful social experiences, relationships and memories through games, we knew we needed a person who could help us break down the walls between community and game development, and help us move games into the future we know players deserve. Marcus is that person.”

Graham said in a statement, “Joining Fortis allows me to do what most excites me — to focus on community and its ability to transform the game industry. When I first learned of the studio’s desire to break down the walls between development and community, I decided I was all-in. Fortis’ vision is ‘Games where you belong’ — a powerful statement, because it cannot be true unless you are truly committed to community. I love and believe in community, and I have seen that Fortis is willing to put the time, energy, and resources into an area that has been underserved for too long.”