How Cheryl Platz turned a lifelong love of Pikachu into a dream role at Pokémon
By Melissa Terry
Her story isn’t just about games. It’s about resilience, reinvention, and the pursuit of joy—even when life throws unexpected boss battles her way.
This is a repost of an article that was originally publicly accessible, but is now behind a paywall due to a technology stack migration at the Microsoft Alumni Network.
When Cheryl Platz first saw Pikachu under her family’s Christmas tree in 1998, she didn’t know the love that it would spark.
“I cannot explain why I imprinted on that plushie so hard,” she laughs. “But Pikachu became a constant in my life.”
Today, Cheryl is living the dream as the creative director for the Game Studio at The Pokémon Company International, leading the creative team for Pokémon Trading Card Game Live. She’s balancing remote work across two states and teaching at Carnegie Mellon University. She just published her second book, The Game Development Strategy Guide, and hosts her podcast, Enduring Play.
Her story isn’t just about games. It’s about resilience, reinvention, and the pursuit of joy—even when life throws unexpected boss battles her way.
Level 1: The Hyper Nerd
Cheryl’s love for technology started early.
“I was a really early reader,” she said. “By age four, I was reading my dad’s PC Magazines because I ran out of books.”
Her childhood was a mix of curiosity and creativity: teaching herself BASIC on a Commodore 64, coding math games, and programming the family VCR so she wouldn’t miss “Rainbow Brite.”
“My mom loves to tell the story,” Cheryl said. “I was four, and I asked her, ‘Where’s the P for program?’ because I’d read the manual.”
Gaming was the most “normal” outlet for her tech obsession. Shareware titles, cartridge games, and later handheld consoles became her playground. That passion eventually led her to Carnegie Mellon University, where she discovered Human-Computer Interaction—a perfect blend of computer science and design.
Level 2: A Career Pivot Born from Crisis
Cheryl’s path to gaming wasn’t linear. Her senior year at Carnegie Mellon coincided with September 11.
“My life is completely different because of that moment,” she said. “I had a job offer rescinded, and suddenly everything changed.”
Instead of traditional UX, Cheryl enrolled at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, studying under legends like Jesse Schell and Randy Pausch.
“Randy taught me that opportunity plus preparation equals success,” she says. “That advice shaped everything.”
That pivot opened doors at Maxis, where Cheryl worked on The Sims—a dream for someone who grew up playing SimCity.
“I remember staring at the offer letter on Maxis stationery, thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is real,’” she said.
Level 3: Microsoft and the Theater Stage
By 2007, Cheryl saw the gaming industry shifting. Budgets shrank, handheld titles faded, and UX roles were scarce. So, she made a bold move: Microsoft.
“If you live in Redmond and don’t work at Microsoft, there’s a curiosity,” she says. “Where are all those cars going?”
She joined as one of two designers on System Center Configuration Manager, later leading design for Windows Automotive features like voice UI and notifications.
“I bewildered all my game friends,” Cheryl said. “‘You went from Winnie the Pooh to server tools?’ Yes—and I loved it.”
Craig Fox, principal design director for Microsoft Azure, was her direct manager on the Connected Car team. While most people at Microsoft are “already psychologically oriented” to be high performers, Craig said Cheryl was mind blowing.
“Here’s a person who has the human-computer interaction degree, she’s not just a computer science person—she can sing and act and present comfortably in front of crowds,” he said. “She’s multifaceted. Her energy, network, and communication served her and the team very well.”
Microsoft wasn’t just work. Cheryl joined the Microsoft Theater Troupe, starring as Cinderella in Into the Woods in 2008.
“Cheryl has stage presence for miles—she’s confident, she’s poised, she has a beautiful voice, she was easy to work with, and she’s funny as hell,” said Pam Policastri, a co-star in Into the Woods. “I got a kick out of her.”
The two women have remained close friends ever since, becoming a strong support system through layoffs, career pivots, and personal milestones.
“Cheryl has been an incredible reassuring presence in my life,” Pam said. “We are friends and peers and equals, but I played her mom (in Into the Woods). In some ways when she tells me these unbelievable things she does, I feel this pride. I get so excited when she does these amazing things.”
Level 4: Improv, Acting, and Adaptability
Improv wasn’t just a hobby—it was a philosophy. Cheryl performed in an improvised Star Trek show and met her husband through theater callbacks for a play about September 11.
“You have to embrace the suggestion of the moment,” she said. “That’s true in improv—and in life.”
That mindset helped Cheryl navigate career changes: from Microsoft to Amazon, where she worked on Alexa voice UI; back to Microsoft working on Azure Marketplace; then to The Gates Foundation as principal UX designer.
“Sometimes you pivot because of layoffs, sometimes because of ethics, sometimes because you’re chasing curiosity,” she said. “I’ve always been open to weird signs from the universe.”
Final Boss: The Pokémon Dream Job
For Cheryl, Pokémon isn’t just a brand—it’s a lifelong love.
“Pikachu was my ring bearer,” she says. “I’ve authentically lived as a Pokémon fan.”
After years of watching for openings, the call finally came in a LinkedIn message: “Catch a career as Creative Director at The Pokémon Company International,” it read.
“I screamed in my car for 10 minutes,” Cheryl said. “I could see life rewriting itself.”
Leaving Scopely (where she led UX for Marvel Strike Force) wasn’t easy, but Pokémon was the one thing that could unseat Marvel in her household.
“When I first met Cheryl, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what Pokémon was,” said Craig, her former manager. “Her office was full of Pokémon. What are all these characters all over her office? The fact that she has ended up as creative director over there—you couldn’t write that.”
Even her friend Pam admitted that she used to think game design was something Cheryl did before all these other career adventures.
“Now, I realize that was always the thing and she circled back to it,” Pam said. “On the way, she had to help save the world at The Gates Foundation.”
Today, Cheryl views games like Pokémon and the titles she’s worked on as a third place, where people connect with other people. It’s about self-expression and companionship.
“The moment I’m having right now is something a lot of people would dream about,” she says. “I try to take the moment and give back to the community.”
After she announced her new role at Pokémon, she said she was “blown away” by hundreds of folks reaching out. Her new book, the Game Development Strategy Guide, is an attempt to reach all the people who have asked for guidance and mentorship on their own career path in the game industry.
“The mindsets, tools, and methods I’ve applied to get where I am are right there in both of my books and podcast so that as many people as possible can learn and benefit from that experience equitably,” she said. “I can’t wait to hear how folks take the Strategy Guide and apply it to their work moving forward, just as I’ve taken the work of so many folks before me to help me get to this point—I look forward to continuing that conversation on LinkedIn.”
Published On: 11/1/2025 12:00:00 AM