Michael Beadle, senior director of communications at Ubisoft, has traveled the globe, leading the launch campaigns for some of the gaming industry’s most iconic titles—The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Animal Crossing, Just Dance. Yet, despite his extensive travels and success, Beadle (Journalism, ’96) remains down-to-earth and deeply connected to his Wildcat roots.
A Chico native and Pleasant Valley High School graduate, Beadle has been with Ubisoft for 21 years and in the video game industry for more than 25. His role in global product communication has taken him to “amazing places and spaces,” collaborating with teams to create awareness and anticipation for video games, television shows, and films.
Ironically, Beadle wasn’t allowed to have a game console growing up—he had to go down to his neighbor’s house to play. His career journey in PR, however, unlocked a path into the gaming industry.
“I found myself working on behalf of a couple of video game companies and realized, ‘Oh, this is even cooler than I thought,’” he said. “I had to start playing games to learn how to talk about games and understand the competition and trends.”
Beadle credits his Chico State connections for helping him get his foot in the door in public relations. Now, he’s paying it forward by mentoring Wildcats. A proud alumnus from a legacy of Chico State graduates—including his father, siblings, and uncle—Beadle frequently returns to Tehama Hall to give lectures and connect with journalism and public relations students.
“One of the things I’ve committed to doing for all students who reach out to me is reviewing their resumes and providing real feedback,” said Beadle, who was also in musical theatre productions at Chico State. “Even if 30 students submit a resume to me, I will eventually review each one and offer them feedback.”
Why is it important for you to stay involved with the University and to give back?
I know what Chico State [Journalism] and PR does and how people come out of the program from day one. And if you had a professional PR draft, I’m picking Chico State students all day, every day. I have hired several students. I want to see [Chico State students] succeed no matter where they go, no matter if they’re in PR or not. As cheesy as that sounds, I care. I want to make sure they have as many or more opportunities as I had when I came out, and I had some great opportunities—Cynthia Rude (Journalism, ’90) helped me land an internship in Los Angeles and Scot Crocker (Journalism, ’80) hired me for my first internship in Sacramento. I’ve been guided and mentored by Chico State people along the way. So, anything I can do to support students, their journey, their dreams, and be an advocate and an ally for them, I’m going to do 100%.
What advice would you give to today’s students?
Stay connected to the University—connect with alumni via LinkedIn, including me, feel free to reach out—and do lots of things. Enjoy your Chico State experience. Volunteer for things. Take classes you wouldn’t normally think about taking, go on that trip on the weekend with people you may not know that well. All these experiences will help enrich your life and give you different ways to connect and communicate with people. In terms of professional development, it would be learning some additional skills beyond what you’re learning in the classroom. The more skills you have, the more you have in your toolbox, and the more invaluable you are to your team and your company, but also you continue to learn and grow in everything you do. You may be in PR for a year, or you may be in PR for a career, but wherever you go, you’re going to be able to contribute. You’re going to be able to learn quickly and adapt, and you’re going to be able to be valuable to those people as well.
The other thing I would say is to be kind and generous to everybody you meet. Integrity and sincerity and authenticity will go a long way. So don’t step on anybody on your journey.
What is the most rewarding project or initiative that you’ve worked on?
At Ubisoft and throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege and honor of working on so many amazing games and projects. But overall, working on the Assassin’s Creed brand and games from the very beginning—launching the first game and the second game and continuing to work on them over the years—has been the ultimate. I also got to work on the Assassin’s Creed movie project and other trans media initiatives, books, anime, all these different things, and it’s been fun to see it grow. It’s also been amazing and rewarding to work with all the people who have made the games over the years, whether it’s trips we’ve taken together to Florence and Venice or Greece. And it’s been inspiring to see the surprise and excitement from the players, the community, and journalists, who have played the games over the years. I’m proud to be a part of projects like that.
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