Michael Condrey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Condrey
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Condrey at the October 2012 Korea Games Conference
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Video game director, producer |
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| Title | President of 31st Union |
Michael Condrey is a well-known American video game designer and video game producer. He helped start a famous game company called Sledgehammer Games. He created this company with Glen Schofield after they worked together on the popular Dead Space game series. Today, Michael Condrey is the president of 31st Union, which is a game studio owned by 2K in Silicon Valley, California.
Contents
Michael Condrey's Journey in Gaming
Michael Condrey finished college at the University of Washington in 1997. He first worked as a scuba diving instructor in the Cayman Islands. Later, he started his exciting career in making video games.
Starting Out at Electronic Arts
His first job in games was at Electronic Arts (EA) in Seattle. This was when Seattle was a big center for game development. Condrey then moved to Redwood City to work at Visceral Games, which was also part of EA.
At Visceral Games, he became a senior director. He helped create the scary and popular game Dead Space in 2008. He also worked on other successful EA games like Need for Speed, FIFA, and the James Bond game series.
Creating Sledgehammer Games
In November 2009, Condrey and his friend Glen Schofield started their own game company called Sledgehammer Games. This company became part of Activision, a very big game publisher. Condrey felt that working with Activision and the Call of Duty series was a huge opportunity.
Working on Call of Duty Games
After trying to make their own Call of Duty game, Condrey and Schofield teamed up with another studio, Infinity Ward. They worked together on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This game was a massive hit! It earned $1 billion in sales in just 16 days. It also won the "Best Shooter" award in 2011. The next year, it won "Game Design of the Year" in Korea and a "Global Award" in Japan.
Condrey and Schofield left Sledgehammer Games in February 2018. They took on new leadership roles at Activision. Then, in December 2018, Condrey left Activision to help start a brand new studio for 2K Games. This new studio, called 31st Union, opened in January 2019 near San Francisco. They even announced a second location for 31st Union in Spain in 2020.
Games Michael Condrey Has Worked On
Michael Condrey has helped create many video games. Here are some of the games he worked on:
- Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998) – As a Tester
- FIFA 99 (1998) – As a Producer
- The World is Not Enough (2000) – As a Producer
- James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001) – As a Producer
- James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002) – As a Producer
- James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004) – As a Director
- From Russia with Love (2005) – As a Director
- Dead Space (2008) – As a Director
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) – As a Director
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014) – As a Director
- Call of Duty: WWII (2017) – As a Director
Michael Condrey's Thoughts on the Game Industry
Michael Condrey has shared his ideas about the video game world. He noticed that many companies focus only on a few very big "blockbuster" games. He felt that in 2012, there should have been more top-tier games.
Innovation in Gaming
He believes this focus on only a few big games has led to new ideas in other areas. For example, new games have appeared on platforms like Apple's iOS (for iPhones and iPads). There are also new ways to play games, like freemium models (where the basic game is free, but you pay for extra things) and social-network games. Condrey said that the industry is "as exciting as I've ever seen it" because of all the new things being tried.
Microtransactions in Games
Condrey has also talked about microtransactions in video games. These are small purchases you can make inside a game. After he left Activision, he shared his concerns about how microtransactions were used in some games. He mentioned that Advanced Warfare only launched with "rewarded Supply Drops" (items you earn in the game). He felt that players should get more ways to show off their achievements. He even said, "$30 for a melee weapon? Not on my watch," showing he disagreed with very expensive in-game items.
See also
In Spanish: Michael Condrey para niños
