Cool Cats Join Beyond The Pixels as Leadership Expands Ahead of Debut Title: Astro Burn
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- 4 min read
Talent from the Worlds of Film, Gaming and Esports Strengthen Transmedia Studio Creative and Commercial Growth
London, UK - March 4th, 2026 – Beyond The Pixels®, a London-based transmedia development studio, announced today the strengthening of its leadership team with four key appointments. In line with the studio’s strategic approach, the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer, Wouter Sleijffers; Chief Technology Officer, Andrea Tedeschi; and Advisory board members Des Gayle and Muki Kulhan bring a broad range of experience from esports, tech, film, games, and beyond.
Already gaining traction through curated discovery platforms and an engaged community, Beyond The Pixels isn’t reviving the past; it’s building the future of modern retro. Developing modern indie games with retro DNA serves the fast-growing modern retro market and builds upon the nostalgia of gaming bygones with fresh, original IP. Beyond The Pixels, positioned at the intersection of original creativity and community-first development, uses its transmedia approach to create Modern Retro IP for today's audiences.
Alongside studio Founder HaZ Dulull, the expanded leadership team will reinforce Beyond The Pixels’ mission: to build original IP for the global modern retro gaming resurgence through smarter, more agile development, and extend those meaningful, premium experiences beyond games into film, TV, and interactive storytelling. Beyond The Pixels’ debut title and first original IP, Astro Burn, is scheduled for release in Spring 2026, in addition to a television series based on the same IP currently in development.
Wouter Sleijffers, former CEO of legendary esports organisations Fnatic and GIANTX, and co-founder of ELO, brings expertise in company growth, partnerships and commercial strategy. As COO, Wouter Sleijffers will oversee operations and business development as Beyond The Pixels prepares for future investment and expansion phases. Commenting on joining as COO, Wouter Sleijffers said, “It’s an exciting moment to scale Beyond The Pixels’ modern retro vision, as audiences experience AAA fatigue and increasingly seek experiences that capture the spirit and creativity of gaming’s golden era”.
Andrea Tedeschi, appointed as Chief Technology Officer, will lead the end-to-end technology pipeline across all games and interactive products produced by the studio. “I’ve collaborated with HaZ since 2014 across almost all of his projects, so joining Beyond The Pixels as CTO feels like the natural and exciting next chapter,” added Andrea Tedeschi.
Joining the advisory board are Des Gayle and Muki Kulhan. Des Gayle brings extensive games industry experience spanning Microsoft and EA, before stepping into a producer role at Square Enix on the original Life is Strange. Speaking on Beyond the Pixels, Des Gayle said, "I’ve long admired HaZ, and I’m excited to join as an advisor to help drive the next wave of gaming experiences. Beyond the Pixels embodies a bold vision, and I can’t wait to explore it together with the team”.
Muki Kulhan brings a wealth of experience from within the innovation, technology, and interactive fan engagement side of the industry, having worked with clients such as MTV, BBC, RED BULL, ROVIO and more, and currently leads the R&D labs at the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme. “I’m beyond excited to support Beyond The Pixels in this creative advisor role, bridging cutting-edge technology with the authenticity (and super cool vision!) of modern retro gaming. The opportunities are endless, and I look forward to working with HaZ and his talented team to expand the company and its unique IP for fans around the world today, and blasting into the future!” enthused Muki Kulhan.
Commenting on the significant growth of Beyond The Pixels, Founder HaZ Dulull said, “This marks a huge step forward for Beyond The Pixels. Bringing together my friends, and proven leaders and innovators from esports, gaming and real-time technology allows us to push our original modern retro IP further across games, film, and TV, all while building the studio on solid creative and commercial foundations.”
Pairing the creativity and agility of a small development team with the expertise and experience of decades spent working across games, technology and film, Beyond The Pixels and its leadership team are poised to execute on its vision of premium, audience-first modern retro entertainment across mediums in both physical and digital formats.
Those wishing to understand more about the evolution of Beyond The Pixels from an investment perspective are encouraged to via wouter(at)beyond-the-pixels.com for further information.
For more information on Beyond The Pixels®, please visit: www.beyond-the-pixels.com
Press Contact:
Overload PR on behalf of Beyond The Pixels®
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About Beyond The Pixels®Beyond The Pixels builds on its founder’s cross-industry experience, blending the core values of 90s gaming with a modern retro vision for today’s audiences. The studio creates original and licensed game IP designed to scale beyond games — expanding into film, TV, and user-generated content through a cohesive transmedia strategy.
