The Team

We bring different perspectives to the table, but we’re united by a passion to bring joy and emotional connection through gaming.

Dani McKenzie

Writer, creative visionary, operator. Scaled Twitch Ads to $1B in 3 years. Grew Amazon Kindle content 3× in 1 year. Developed the first consumer credit card purchasing system at Microsoft. 

CEO & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sapna Mirje

Engineering leader, platform architect. Shipped the invisible layer beneath games - multiplayer matchmaking, community, moderation, and compliance platforms for Xbox titles, the social engine behind Netflix Games, and the Ad Supply stack powering Twitch at scale.

CTO & LEAD ENGINEER
CXO & QUALITY LEAD

Michelle Mangio

Player experience veteran. QA and Engineering leader across 25 game titles including LEGO Fortnite, Unreal for Fortnite, Disney’s Fantasia: Music Evolved, Batman Arkham City, and D&D Online.

ADVISOR

Chiara Piccinotti

AI expert, product leader, data-driven, empath. Head of Data Science & Engineering at Discord. AI Infrastructure at Meta. Monetization Product and Analytics at Twitch.

What does “Zisha” mean?

Studio Zisha takes its name from a traditional unglazed pottery technique from Yixing, where porous clay absorbs the tea it holds and becomes seasoned through repeated use. Human feelings are similar, shaped by every experience.

We design our games with that in mind. Player choices, boundaries, and desires shape the experience as it unfolds, and meaning grows through mutual interaction.