Bill Stealey
 |
Bill Stealey | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | Pennsylvania Air National Guard USAF Reserve |
| Years of service | 1970–1993 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Alma mater | Wharton School |
John Wilbur Stealey Sr. is an American game developer and publisher who founded MicroProse with Sid Meier. He also founded (in 1995) and is the current CEO of iEntertainment Network.[1]
Career
[edit]Stealey graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 and was, at the time he co-founded Microprose, a Major in the USAF Reserve and instructor for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, flying A-37 attack aircraft.[2]
Stealey took a job with General Instrument as their Director of Strategic Planning for their Systems and Service Division in Hunt Valley, Maryland.[citation needed] There he met Sid Meier and co-founded his first game company, MicroProse Software. As CEO he grew the company to over $43 million in annual sales, taking MicroProse Software public in 1991.
In 1993 he sold MicroProse to a Kleiner Perkins company, Spectrum HoloByte. He resigned from the company following the merger, and announced his retirement, with the intention to "play golf for a living".[3][4] He retired from the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel.[5]
Stealey started the game software company Interactive Magic in 1995, took it public in 1998, and sold to a private equity firm in 1999.
Personal life
[edit]In the 1980s and 1990s Bill Stealey flew planes recreationally on a regular basis. In 1987, an engine failure occurred aboard his plane which forced an emergency landing in poor visibility conditions, but he survived the encounter.[6][7]
Stealey owned the Baltimore Spirit of the National Professional Soccer League from the franchise's inception in 1992 until he sold it to Edwin F. Hale, Sr. in 1998.[8][9]
Next Generation listed Stealey in their "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995" for his roles as former head of MicroProse and then-current head of Interactive Magic.[10] Stealey left the company in 1999, but later returned as CEO in 2002.
References
[edit]- ^ About iEntertainment Network
- ^ Gamers At Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play, by Morgan Ramsay, ISBN 1430233516
- ^ "Interactive Magic". Next Generation. No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. pp. 109–110.
- ^ Batchelor, James (6 May 2020). "The resurrection of MicroProse and return of "Wild Bill" Stealey". GamesIndustry.biz.
- ^ MicroProse and iEntertainment Network Inc. Announce Co-Publishing of WarBirds 2020, Online Combat Flight Simulation: Bloomberg.com
- ^ Furchgott, Roy. "Profile/J. W. Stealey; For a Computer Game Ace, a Very Real Dogfight".
- ^ "An Interview with "Wild Bill" Stealey". Next Generation. No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 112.
- ^ Ey, Craig S. "Can soccer succeed in Baltimore?" Baltimore Business Journal, Friday, August 8, 1997.
- ^ Sidekicks Opponents: Baltimore Blast (new-MISL) – kicksfans.com.
- ^ "75 Power Players". Next Generation (11). Imagine Media: 53. November 1995.