John Welch

Moby ID: 31994

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John Welch is veteran leader of the online games industry and one of the early pioneers of digital distribution of entertainment. He is currently CEO of Making Fun, a game developer and publisher he co-founded in 2009 to create mobile and social titles for digital platforms. Making Fun’s top titles include Hidden Express, BloodRealm and the upcoming Mage & Minions.

In addition to his operating role, John is an active investor in other game-related startups. He is a Director of Ledge Media, a game project development fund. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Renaissance 2.0, makers of Secret Builders. He was an Advisor to Games That Give (recently sold), a charitable gaming platform that rewards users’ free gameplay on Facebook with vaccinations for children in third world countries.

Previously, as co-founder & CEO of PlayFirst, the casual games developer and publisher famous for its best-selling Diner Dash brand, John was responsible for the vision, financing, strategic direction and operations of the company for its first five years. Prior to forming PlayFirst, he spent nearly five years building Shockwave.com into one of the Internet's top game portals as the company's Vice President of Games and Product. He was a key member of the Dreamcast Network leadership team at SEGA from 1998 to 1999. Previously, John spent several years running a small consultancy he co-founded, and he began his career at Andersen Consulting.

John has served as steering committee member and chair of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Online & Casual Games groups, and he is a regular faculty member of the annual Game Developers' Conference. John is currently and has been an Advisor to the GDC Social and Online Game Summit for the past several years. John is an active member and officer of the Golden Gate chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from M.I.T. and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Credited on 23 games

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Mage and Minions (2014, Android) Published by Making Fun
Cooking Dash (2009, iPhone) Special Thanks
Dream Chronicles (2009, iPhone) Special Thanks
Wandering Willows (2009, Windows) Special Thanks
Chocolatier (2009, iPhone) Special Thanks
Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye (2008, Windows) Special Thanks
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack Pack (2008, Windows) Special Thanks
The Nightshift Code (2008, Macintosh) Special Thanks
Diner Dash: Hometown Hero (2007, Macintosh) Special Thanks
Mystery of Shark Island (2007, Windows) Special Thanks
SandScript (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Connect Four Cities (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Plantasia (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Egg vs. Chicken (2006, Windows) Special Thanks
Spellagories (2005, Windows) Executive Producers
Oasis (2005, Windows) Special thanks to
Chessmaster Challenge (2005, Windows) Executive Producers
Subway Scramble (2005, Windows) Executive Producer

[ full credits ]

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