Editing Tim Sweeney

{{Short description|American video game developer (born 1970)}}
{{other people}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Tim Sweeney
| image              = John Carmack and Tim Sweeney, GDCA 2017 (portrait crop).jpg
| caption            = Sweeney at the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] 2017
| birth_name         = Timothy Dean Sweeney<ref name="justia">{{Cite web |url=https://patents.justia.com/inventor/timothy-dean-sweeney |title=Timothy Dean Sweeney Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications |website=Justia Patents |access-date=February 9, 2020}}</ref>
| birth_date         = {{birth year and age|1970|}}<ref name="gamasutra">{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/from-the-past-to-the-future-tim-sweeney-talks|title=Features - From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks|publisher=[[Gamasutra]]|date=May 25, 2009|access-date=August 9, 2017|first=Benj|last=Edwards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809214002/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4035/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php|archive-date=August 9, 2017|url-status=<!--live-->dead}}</ref>
| alma_mater         = [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Tim Sweeney|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/tim-sweeney/|access-date=May 3, 2022|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> 
| occupation         = [[Video game programmer]] and [[Video game developer|developer]], [[Businessperson|businessman]]
| title              = Founder and CEO of Epic Games
| notable_works        = ''[[ZZT]]'' <br /> [[Unreal Engine]]
| awards             = [[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences#Hall of Fame|AIAS]] Hall of Fame Award (2012)<ref name="aias">{{Cite web |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-08-epic-games-founder-tim-sweeney-enters-aias-hall-of-fame |title=Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney enters AIAS Hall of Fame |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=August 12, 2011 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204214824/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-08-epic-games-founder-tim-sweeney-enters-aias-hall-of-fame |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref><br />[[Game Developers Choice Awards|GDC]] Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)<ref name="gdc">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/tim-sweeney-earns-the-game-developers-choice-lifetime-achievement-award/ |title=Tim Sweeney earns the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=January 20, 2017 |website=[[PC Gamer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204215830/https://www.pcgamer.com/tim-sweeney-earns-the-game-developers-choice-lifetime-achievement-award/ |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref>
| net_worth          = 
}}

'''Timothy Dean Sweeney''' (born 1970) is an American [[video game programmer]] and businessman. He is the founder and [[Chief executive officer|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.<ref name="kotaku">{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/5865951/the-quiet-tinkerer-who-makes-games-beautiful-finally-gets-his-due|title=The Quiet Tinkerer Who Makes Games Beautiful Finally Gets His Due|publisher=[[Kotaku]]|date=July 12, 2011|access-date=September 6, 2014|first=Stephen|last=Totilo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906160202/http://kotaku.com/5865951/the-quiet-tinkerer-who-makes-games-beautiful-finally-gets-his-due|archive-date=September 6, 2014}}</ref> He became interested in [[arcade game]]s 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 (1980 video game)|Adventure]]'', and later said he had not played many video games in his life and very few to completion.<ref name="kotaku"/>

At the age of 11, Sweeney visited his older brother's new startup in [[California]], where he had access to early [[IBM Personal Computer]]s. 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.<ref name="kotaku"/> 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.<ref name="kotaku"/>

==Founding of Epic Games==
{{Main|Epic Games}}
Sweeney attended the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] starting around 1989 where he studied [[mechanical engineering]],<ref name="gamasutra"/> though he was still fascinated by computers.<ref name="kotaku"/> Around this time, his father, who worked for the [[Defense Mapping Agency]], gave him an [[IBM Personal Computer/AT]].<ref name="kotaku"/> Sweeney established a consulting business, Potomac Computer Systems, out of his parents' home, but it never took off and he shelved the company.<ref name="gamasutra"/> 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 (programming language)|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 (entrepreneur)|Scott Miller]] of [[3D Realms|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 {{USD|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.<ref name="gamasutra"/>

[[File:GDC 2016 TXT8604 Tim Sweeney (25730674112) (cropped2).jpg|thumb|right|Sweeney giving a presentation at the 2016 [[Game Developers Conference]]]]
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.<ref name="kotaku"/> For continued development, Sweeney sought out a business partner for Epic MegaGames, eventually coming to [[Mark Rein (software executive)|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.<ref name="gamasutra"/> Sweeney would later start work on the [[Unreal Engine]], developed for the 1998 [[first-person shooter]] ''[[Unreal (1998 video game)|Unreal]]'' and licensed by multiple other video games.<ref name="kotaku"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=High score!: the illustrated history of electronic games |last1=DeMaria |first1=Rusel |last2=Wilson |first2=Johnny L. |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |year=2003 |isbn=0-07-223172-6 |series=Computer Games |page=300}}</ref> With the success of ''Unreal'', the company relocated to North Carolina in 1999, and changed its name to Epic Games.<ref name="epicshop">{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/04/epic-sets-up-shop |title=Epic Sets up Shop |website=[[IGN]] |date=February 4, 1999 |publication-date=February 3, 1999 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713174455/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/04/epic-sets-up-shop |archive-date=July 13, 2017 }}</ref>

== Conservation and philanthropy ==
Since the [[2000s United States housing bubble|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.<ref name="citizen-times">{{Cite web |url=https://eu.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/11/08/box-creek-wilderness-permanently-protected/93443704/ |title=Box Creek Wilderness permanently protected |last=Chávez |first=Karen |date=November 8, 2016 |website=[[Asheville Citizen-Times|Citizen-Times]] |access-date=February 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Eanes |first=Zachery |date=February 26, 2019 |title=Land owned by Epic Games' Tim Sweeney could become part of 1,000-acre park |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article226630484.html |access-date=August 30, 2020 |website=The News & Observer}}</ref> 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.<ref name="news&observer">{{Cite web |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article238221784.html |title=Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Tar Heel of the Year finalist, changed video game industry |last=Eanes |first=Zachery |date=December 23, 2019 |website=[[The News & Observer]] |access-date=February 15, 2020}}</ref><ref name="citizen-times"/> Sweeney, who had paid $15 million for Box Creek Wilderness, donated the [[conservation easement]] to the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] in 2016.<ref name="citizen-times"/> 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.<ref name="citizen-times"/> "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."<ref name="citizen-times"/>

Additionally, he has participated in the expansion to [[Mount Mitchell State Park]] by donating {{convert|1,500|acre}} to a conservation project.<ref name="citizen-times"/><ref name="news&observer"/> 

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quillin |first=Martha |date=April 22, 2021 |title=Epic Games CEO Sweeney will give 7,500 acres of NC mountain land for conservation |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article250858984.html |access-date=June 10, 2021 |website=[[The News & Observer]]}}</ref> This acreage, valued at tens of millions of dollars, is the largest private conservation land donation in the history of North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chávez |first=Karen |title=Largest private land donation in state history protects vast mountains in Roan Highlands |url=https://eu.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/04/22/epic-games-ceo-tim-sweeney-donation-conserve-roan-mountain-western-north-carolina/7313726002/ |access-date=June 10, 2021 |website=[[Citizen-Times]]}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine awarded him a ''Rave Award'' in 2007 for his work on Unreal Engine 3, the technology behind the blockbuster ''[[Gears of War (video game)|Gears of War]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2007/04/feat-raves/ |title=The 2007 Rave Awards |date=April 24, 2007 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824215729/https://www.wired.com/2007/04/feat-raves/ |archive-date=August 24, 2017  }}</ref>

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."<ref name="aias" /> 

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McBrayer |first=Sharon |date=September 10, 2014 |title=Rutherford Electric power line issue battled in courts |url=https://morganton.com/news/rutherford-electric-power-line-issue-battled-in-courts/article_b506c60e-3941-11e4-9d7f-001a4bcf6878.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210326195217/https://morganton.com/news/rutherford-electric-power-line-issue-battled-in-courts/article_b506c60e-3941-11e4-9d7f-001a4bcf6878.html |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=[[The News Herald (North Carolina)|The News Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= May 7, 2014 |title=Box Creek Wilderness owner honored for conservation |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/05/07/box-creek-wilderness-owner-honored-conservation/8830653/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210326201756/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/05/07/box-creek-wilderness-owner-honored-conservation/8830653/ |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=[[Citizen-Times]]}}</ref>

In 2017, Sweeney was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]].<ref name="gdc" />

In 2019, he was named ''Person of the Year'' by British video game industry trade magazine ''[[MCV/Develop|MCV]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mcvuk.com/business/here-are-your-mcv-awards-2019-winners |title=Here are your MCV Awards 2019 winners! |date=March 7, 2019 |website=[[MCV (magazine)|MCV]] |access-date=March 14, 2019}}</ref> He was also a finalist for ''[[The News & Observer]]'''s [[Tar Heel]] of the Year award, which recognizes the contributions of North Carolina residents.<ref name="news&observer"/>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chmielewski |first=Dawn |date=January 2, 2021 |title=Forbes Media Awards 2020: Why 'Fortnite' Overlord Tim Sweeney Is Our Person Of The Year |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/01/02/forbes-media-awards-2020-why-fortnite-overlord-tim-sweeney-is-our-person-of-the-year/?sh=1127b004135f |access-date=January 27, 2021 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

== Personal life==
Sweeney lives in [[Cary, North Carolina]].<ref name=":0" /> According to ''[[Forbes]]'', {{As of|2022|05|lc=yes}}, he has a net worth of $7.6 billion.<ref name=":0" /> However, ''[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]'' estimates his wealth at $9.6 billion.<ref name="bloomberg">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/tim-sweeney/ |title=Tim Sweeney |website=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] |access-date=May 3, 2022}}</ref>

Since 2006, Sweeney has filed several [[patent]]s related to computer software.<ref name="justia"/>

== Publications ==
*Tim Sweeney (2000). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20001020132410/http://www.gamespy.com/legacy/articles/devweek_b.shtm A Critical Look at Programming Languages]''. [[GameSpy]] – via [[Internet Archive]].
*Tim Sweeney (2006). ''[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/cag/crg/papers/sweeney06games.pdf The Next Mainstream Programming Language: A Game Developer's Perspective]''. [[Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages]] (POPL) – via [[MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory|MIT CSAIL]].
*Tim Sweeney (2008). ''[http://www.iiswc.org/iiswc2008/sildes/keynote_1.pdf Wild Speculation on Consumer Workloads: 2012-2020]''. IEEE International Symposium on Workload Characterization (IISWC).
*Neal Glew, Tim Sweeney & Leaf Petersen (2013). ''[https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2502409.2502412 A Multivalued Language with a Dependent Type System]''. Proceedings of the 2013 ACM SIGPLAN workshop on Dependently-typed programming.
*Neal Glew, Tim Sweeney & Leaf Petersen (2013). ''[https://arxiv.org/pdf/1307.5277.pdf Formalisation of the λ<sub>ℵ</sub> Runtime]''. [[arXiv]].
*[[Lennart Augustsson]], Joachim Breitner, Koen Claessen, Ranjit Jhala, [[Simon Peyton Jones]], Olin Shivers, Tim Sweeney (2022). ''[https://simon.peytonjones.org/verse-calculus/ The Verse Calculus: a Core Calculus for Functional Logic Programming]''. simon.peytonjones.org.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
*{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/from-the-past-to-the-future-tim-sweeney-talks |title=From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks |last=Edwards |first=Benj |date=May 25, 2009 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}
*{{Cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/5865951/the-quiet-tinkerer-who-makes-games-beautiful-finally-gets-his-due |title=The Quiet Tinkerer Who Makes Games Beautiful Finally Gets His Due |last=Totilo |first=Stephen |date=December 7, 2011 |website=[[Kotaku]]}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-man-behind-fortnite-11560571201 |title=The Man Behind 'Fortnite' |last=Needleman |first=Sarah |date=June 15, 2019 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}

==External links==
* {{Twitter|TimSweeneyEpic}}
* [https://www.interactive.org/special_awards/details.asp?idSpecialAwards=23 Tim Sweeney's profile on the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJxc_uXo_SM BAFTA Celebrates: Epic Games – Interview with Tim Sweeney]

{{Epic}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Tim}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Raleigh, North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Potomac, Maryland]]
[[Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni]]
[[Category:Epic Games]]
[[Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:American video game programmers]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:Game Developers Conference Lifetime Achievement Award recipients]]
[[Category:American conservationists]]
[[Category:People from Cary, North Carolina]]
[[Category:American entertainment company founders]]
[[Category:American video game businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in real estate]]