ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of Bethesda Softworks, has created ZeniMax Online Studios. The division, to be headed by online gaming expert Matt Firor, will focus on the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) market segment. ZeniMax Online Studios is located in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
Firor was one of the founders of Mythic Ent., where he worked for more than a decade on MMO titles. At Mythic, he was the producer of the worldwide smash hit DARK AGE OF CAMELOT, a MMORPG considered one of the most influential online games of all time. Firor was responsible for all development projects at the company until he departed 2006. For the past year, he has been a consultant in the online gaming industry, advising leading publishers interested in entering the online market.
âWe are excited about the opportunities we have in the online gaming space and felt that Matt is the perfect person to lead this effort,â said James Leder, coo of ZeniMax Media. "There are relatively few people who have the actual experience and knowledge that comes from having created a successful MMO, and Matt is the real deal. We feel fortunate to have him join our group.â
Firor has worked in the gaming industry for 17 years. He has lectured at the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on game development topics, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. He has written articles for GAME DEVELOPER MAGAZINE and was a regular columnist covering online game development for the Korean gaming magazine, ONPLAYER.
For more information on ZeniMax Online Studios, visit www.zenimaxonline.com/.
ZeniMax Media (www.zenimax.com) is a unique media organization that has brought together a powerful creative force of world-class game developers, artists and designers, programmers and leading executives plus talent from traditional media. ZeniMax creates and publishes original interactive entertainment content for consoles, the PC and handheld/wireless devices. ZeniMax Media forges strategic partnerships with leading media companies to exploit fully the opportunities arising from its cutting edge interactive entertainment. Its divisions include Bethesda Softworks, Vir2l Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios.
