American video game developer (born 1970)
Timothy Dean Sweeney
(born 1970) is an American
video game programmer
and businessman. He is the founder and
CEO
of
Epic Games
, and the creator of
Unreal Engine
, a game development platform.
Early life
Sweeney was raised in
Potomac, Maryland
, the youngest of three brothers. At a young age, he became interested in tinkering with mechanical and electrical devices, and stated he had taken apart a lawnmower as early as five or six, and later built his own go-kart.
[6]
He became interested in
arcade games
when they began to become popular in the late 1970s, knowing that like the mechanics devices he took apart and repaired, there were those that had programmed the games in the machines. Though the family got an
Atari 2600
, Sweeney was not as interested in the games for that, outside of
Adventure
, and later said he had not played many video games in his life and very few to completion.
[6]
At the age of 11, Sweeney visited his older brother's new startup in
California
, where he had access to early
IBM Personal Computers
. Sweeney spent the week there, learning
BASIC
and establishing his interest in programming; while he had had a
Commodore 64
before, Sweeney was much more taken by how easy the IBM PC was to use.
[6]
When his family got an
Apple II
, Sweeney began in earnest learning how to program on that, trying to make
Adventure 2
in the spirit of the Atari 2600 game. Sweeney estimated that between the ages of 11 and 15, he spent over 10,000 hours teaching himself how to program using information on online bulletin boards, and completed several games, though never shared these with others. He also learned from his brothers concepts of entrepreneurship. As a teenager, he made a good deal of money by offering to mow lawns of wealthy residents in the area for half the price of professional services.
[6]
Founding of Epic Games
Sweeney attended the
University of Maryland
starting around 1989 where he studied
mechanical engineering
,
[2]
though he was still fascinated by computers.
[6]
Around this time, his father, who worked for the
Defense Mapping Agency
, gave him an
IBM Personal Computer/AT
.
[6]
Sweeney established a consulting business, Potomac Computer Systems, out of his parents' home, but it never took off and he shelved the company.
[2]
Later, Sweeney had the idea of creating games that could be sold, programming them at night or over weekends outside college work. This first required him to create a
text editor
based on the
Pascal
language to be able to program the game, which led to the idea of making a game out of the text editor itself. This became the basis of
ZZT
. He let college friends and those around his neighborhood provide feedback, and was aware it was something he could sell to other computer users. To distribute the game, Sweeney looked to the
shareware
model, and wrote to
Scott Miller
of
Apogee Software, Ltd.
, a leading shareware producer at the time, for ideas on how to distribute
ZZT
. He revitalized Potomac Computer Systems for selling
ZZT
, fulfilling mail orders with help of his father.
ZZT
sold well enough, a few copies each day that came to about
US$100
per day, that Sweeney decided to make developing games his career. Recognizing he needed a better name for a video game company, he renamed Potomac Computer Systems to Epic MegaGames.
[2]
Following
ZZT
, Sweeney started working on his next title,
Jill of the Jungle
, but found that he lacked the skills to complete this alone. He formed a team of four people to complete the game by mid-1992.
[6]
For continued development, Sweeney sought out a business partner for Epic MegaGames, eventually coming to
Mark Rein
, who had just been let go from
id Software
. Rein helped with growing and managing the company; due to the company's growth, Sweeney did not end up getting his degree, short by one credit.
[2]
Sweeney would later start work on the
Unreal Engine
, developed for the 1998
first-person shooter
Unreal
and licensed by multiple other video games.
[6]
[7]
With the success of
Unreal
, the company relocated to North Carolina in 1999, and changed its name to Epic Games.
[8]
Conservation and philanthropy
Since the
real estate bubble
collapsed in 2008, Sweeney has used his fortune to purchase large tracts of land in
North Carolina
, reportedly for conservation, becoming one of the largest private landowners in the state.
[9]
[10]
As of December 2019, he has bought 50,000 acres of forest land including the Box Creek Wilderness, a 7,000-acre natural area that contains more than 130 rare and threatened plants and wildlife species.
[11]
[9]
Sweeney, who had paid $15 million for Box Creek Wilderness, donated the
conservation easement
to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
in 2016.
[9]
One of the motives to put Box Creek Wilderness under conservation easement was a condemnation lawsuit filed by a power company who planned to build a transmission line through the land. The lawsuit was settled following the Fish and Wildlife Service's and Senator
Richard Burr
's involvement in protecting the site, which prevented it from being fragmented.
[9]
"I'm grateful for the efforts of Senator Burr to help protect Box Creek Wilderness," Sweeney said. "And for the whole Fish and Wildlife Service team's tireless efforts to preserve vital North Carolina natural areas in partnership with conservation-minded landowners like me."
[9]
Additionally, he has participated in the expansion to
Mount Mitchell State Park
by donating 1,500 acres (610 ha) to a conservation project.
[9]
[11]
In April 2021, it was announced that Sweeney would donate 7,500 acres in the Roan Highlands of western North Carolina to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. When transferred the next year, the conservancy will manage the property as a nature preserve, conducting scientific studies in collaboration with Sweeney and offering guided hikes.
[12]
This acreage, valued at tens of millions of dollars, is the largest private conservation land donation in the history of North Carolina.
[13]
Awards and recognition
Wired
magazine awarded him a
Rave Award
in 2007 for his work on Unreal Engine 3, the technology behind the blockbuster
Gears of War
.
[14]
In February 2012, Sweeney was inducted into the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
(AIAS) Hall of Fame for changing "the face of gaming with the advent of the Unreal Engine and the commitment of Epic, as a studio, to bring both consumer and industry-facing technology to new heights."
[4]
In recognition of his conservation efforts, he was named Land Conservationist of the Year in 2013 by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and later in 2014 the land trusts of North Carolina honored him with the Stanback Volunteer Conservationist of the Year Award.
[15]
[16]
In 2017, Sweeney was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the
Game Developers Choice Awards
.
[5]
In 2019, he was named
Person of the Year
by British video game industry trade magazine
MCV
.
[17]
He was also a finalist for
The News & Observer
'
s
Tar Heel
of the Year award, which recognizes the contributions of North Carolina residents.
[11]
At the Forbes Media Awards 2020, Sweeney was chosen as
Person of the Year
for building and turning
Fortnite
into a social network with his company, hosting online events such as
Travis Scott
's in-game concert which drew 28 million viewers.
[18]
Personal life
Sweeney lives in
Cary, North Carolina
.
[3]
According to
Forbes
, as of May 2022
[update]
, he has a net worth of $7.6 billion.
[3]
However,
Bloomberg
estimates his wealth at $9.6 billion.
[19]
Since 2006, Sweeney has filed several
patents
related to computer software.
[1]
Publications
References
- ^
a
b
"Timothy Dean Sweeney Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications"
.
Justia Patents
. Retrieved
February 9,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Edwards, Benj (May 25, 2009).
"Features - From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks"
.
Gamasutra
. Archived from
the original
on August 9, 2017
. Retrieved
August 9,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Tim Sweeney"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
May 3,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Purchese, Robert (August 12, 2011).
"Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney enters AIAS Hall of Fame"
.
Eurogamer
.
Archived
from the original on December 4, 2018
. Retrieved
December 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Chalk, Andy (January 20, 2017).
"Tim Sweeney earns the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award"
.
PC Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on December 4, 2018
. Retrieved
December 4,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Totilo, Stephen (July 12, 2011).
"The Quiet Tinkerer Who Makes Games Beautiful Finally Gets His Due"
.
Kotaku
.
Archived
from the original on September 6, 2014
. Retrieved
September 6,
2014
.
- ^
DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003).
High score!: the illustrated history of electronic games
. Computer Games. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 300.
ISBN
0-07-223172-6
.
- ^
"Epic Sets up Shop"
.
IGN
(published February 3, 1999). February 4, 1999.
Archived
from the original on July 13, 2017
. Retrieved
July 13,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Chavez, Karen (November 8, 2016).
"Box Creek Wilderness permanently protected"
.
Citizen-Times
. Retrieved
February 15,
2020
.
- ^
Eanes, Zachery (February 26, 2019).
"Land owned by Epic Games' Tim Sweeney could become part of 1,000-acre park"
.
The News & Observer
. Retrieved
August 30,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Eanes, Zachery (December 23, 2019).
"Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Tar Heel of the Year finalist, changed video game industry"
.
The News & Observer
. Retrieved
February 15,
2020
.
- ^
Quillin, Martha (April 22, 2021).
"Epic Games CEO Sweeney will give 7,500 acres of NC mountain land for conservation"
.
The News & Observer
. Retrieved
June 10,
2021
.
- ^
Chavez, Karen.
"Largest private land donation in state history protects vast mountains in Roan Highlands"
.
Citizen-Times
. Retrieved
June 10,
2021
.
- ^
"The 2007 Rave Awards"
.
Wired
. April 24, 2007. Archived from
the original
on August 24, 2017
. Retrieved
August 24,
2017
.
- ^
McBrayer, Sharon (September 10, 2014).
"Rutherford Electric power line issue battled in courts"
.
The News Herald
. Archived from
the original
on March 26, 2021
. Retrieved
March 26,
2021
.
- ^
"Box Creek Wilderness owner honored for conservation"
.
Citizen-Times
. May 7, 2014. Archived from
the original
on March 26, 2021
. Retrieved
March 26,
2021
.
- ^
"Here are your MCV Awards 2019 winners!"
.
MCV
. March 7, 2019
. Retrieved
March 14,
2019
.
- ^
Chmielewski, Dawn (January 2, 2021).
"Forbes Media Awards 2020: Why 'Fortnite' Overlord Tim Sweeney Is Our Person Of The Year"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
January 27,
2021
.
- ^
"Tim Sweeney"
.
Bloomberg
. Retrieved
May 3,
2022
.
Sources
Further reading
External links
|
---|
|
Games
developed
| |
---|
Third-party
publishing
| Epic
MegaGames
| |
---|
Epic Games
Publishing
| |
---|
|
---|
Technology
| |
---|
Subsidiaries
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|