Career
In 1983, Van Caneghem founded New World Computing, a publisher and developer of computer and console games.
Their first title was the medieval fantasy Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum—one of the first role-playing games to feature detailed drawings of both indoor and outdoor locations. It debuted in 1986 for the Apple II. The series went on to include nine bestselling games, all of which Van Cangehem co-created. In 1990 Van Caneghem released King's Bounty, the forerunner of the Heroes of Might and Magic series of seven games which feature turn-based, fantasy-themed conflicts in which players control armies of mythical creatures.
In the following 20 years as president and CEO of New World Computing, Van Caneghem oversaw the publishing of more than 250 titles worldwide.
Van Caneghem sold New World Computing to developer and publisher 3DO in 1996 for USD$13 million. He remained with 3DO as president and "lead visionary" until 2003 when 3DO filed for bankruptcy and eliminated its New World Computing division. The rights to the Might and Magic name were purchased for $1.3 million by Ubisoft, which revived the franchise with a new series under the same name.
From 2004 to 2005, Van Caneghem worked at NCSoft as executive producer of a massively multiplayer online game. In 2006 Van Caneghem left NCSoft and launched Trion World Network, headquartered in Redwood City, California, after securing more than $100 million in investment capital from Time Warner, NBC Universal, GE and Bertelsmann. Trion produces server-side games.
Van Caneghem left Trion in 2009 and joined Electronic Arts where he heads the video game giant's Command & Conquer brand. Command & Conquer was originally launched in 1995 and has sold 30 million units worldwide. Van Caneghem is responsible for extending the series online.
Read more about this topic: Jon Van Caneghem
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