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Mark Kern

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Mark Kern
Mark Kern in 2011
Bornc. 1968
Taipei, Taiwan
EducationBoston University School of Law (JD)
University of Rochester (BA)
Occupations
  • Game developer
  • Game designer
Employer(s)Blizzard Entertainment (1997–2005)
Red 5 Studios (2005–2013)
Known forWorld of Warcraft, Firefall

Mark Edward Kern, also known as Grummz, is a former video game executive. He worked for Blizzard Entertainment from 1997 to 2005 and was a co-founder and CEO of Red 5 Studios during the development and promotion of the video game Firefall.

Kern is a graduate of the University of Rochester and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Boston University School of Law. Kern has been involved in online activism against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and in support of Gamergate.

Early life and education

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Mark Kern was born in Taipei, Taiwan, where he attended the Taipei American School. He moved to the United States to attend college at the University of Rochester, earning a Bachelor of Arts in cognitive science in 1992.[1] He earned a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1995, where he specialized in intellectual property and was a co-founder of the university's Journal of Science and Technology Law.[2]

Career

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Blizzard Entertainment

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Kern joined Blizzard Entertainment in 1997, initially serving as an Associate Producer for Starcraft. His roles expanded to include Producer of Diablo II[3] and Team Lead for World of Warcraft.[4][5] Kern departed Blizzard in 2005.

Red 5 Studios

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In 2005, Kern co-founded the game development company Red 5 Studios alongside three other former Blizzard employees. He played a significant role in the development of the game Firefall and became CEO of the company in 2008.[6]

Controversies and departure from Red 5 Studios

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Kern faced allegations of overspending on promotional campaigns for Firefall. Notably, he devised a marketing strategy involving a Firefall-themed e-sports bus intended as both a mobile promotional tool and a server for LAN competitions during the game's beta phase. The project, estimated at $3 million, also included the establishment of a dedicated video production team with costly equipment.[7] Red 5 employees described Kern as being prone to extended absences and having an "erratic, impulsive, and very disruptive" leadership style.[8]

In 2013, Kern was removed from his position as CEO by the Red 5 board of directors.[9] He referred to his time at the company as his own "Kobayashi Maru".[7]

MEK Entertainment and later work

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Kern founded the studio MEK Entertainment in 2014. The company raised $1 million in seed funding for an Oculus Rift virtual reality MMO.[10]

In 2016,[11] Kern began seeking crowdfunding for Em-8er, a "spiritual successor" to Firefall.[12] As of September 2024, he has raised about $600,000 to develop the vertical slice demo of Em-8er. [13]

Online activism and recent activity

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Kern speaking at GDC 2011

In response to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act in 2012, Kern initiated a lobbying group named League4Gamers.[14][15][16] In 2015, he expressed support for the Gamergate movement[17] and indicated a desire to revive League4Gamers as part of this campaign.

In 2016, Kern became involved in the Nostalrius petition to convince Blizzard to consider reviving vanilla servers for World of Warcraft.[18] Following the Blitzchung controversy in 2019, Kern quit playing World of Warcraft[12] and called for a boycott of Blizzard.[19]

In August 2023, Kern attracted attention when he posted a critical tweet regarding the start menu of the then-upcoming Bethesda Softworks game Starfield. This tweet sparked reactions from various individuals, including Bethesda's head of publishing, Pete Hines.[20]

After online backlash and criticism of the Canadian narrative development studio Sweet Baby Inc.[21] Kern has become an outspoken critic of the company and criticized such ESG standards and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives effects on video game developers. In March 2024, he railed against "wokeness", telling Fox News that there is a "coordinated effort to insert diversity politics into games".[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ "Mark Kern". The Org.
  2. ^ "1994–1995 Editorial Board". Boston University School of Law. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Diablo 2 Producer: 'Blizzard Doesn't Understand Gamers Anymore'". IGN.
  4. ^ Remo, Chris (April 18, 2007). "Red 5 Studios' Mark Kern and Scott Youngblood". ShackNews. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Williatham, Atle (April 18, 2016). "Former World of Warcraft Team Lead to take Vanilla server petition to Blizzard". GameZone. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  6. ^ Edery, David (March 1, 2015). "Interview with Mark Kern (Red 5 Studios)" (Interview). Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Custer, C. (December 29, 2013). "The rise and fall of Mark Kern: how one man may have doomed Firefall and The9". Tech in Asia. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Lemon, Marshall (December 20, 2013). "Red 5 Studios Employees Speak Out Against Dismissed CEO". The Escapist. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013.
  9. ^ Hornshaw, Phil (December 20, 2013). "Red 5 Board Votes Out Co-Founder Mark Kern As CEO". GameFront. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Olivetti, Justin (September 22, 2014). "Mark Kern starts new studio, raises $1M for VR MMO". Engadget.
  11. ^ https://mmos.com/editorials/mark-kerns-firefall-successor-ember-seems-questionable-at-best
  12. ^ a b Royce, Bree (October 11, 2019). "Mark Kern didn't just quit WoW Classic: He accused his old Firefall studio of Chinese corruption". Massively Overpowered.
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4J7iXWacos&t
  14. ^ Gaudiosi, John (January 18, 2012). "League For Gamers Founder Mark Kern Explains Why SOPA and PIPA Are Bad for the Videogame Industry". Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ Parrish, Kevin (January 18, 2012). "SOPA Drama Creates ESA Rival, the League For Gamers". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  16. ^ Usher, William (April 3, 2012). "League For Gamers Fights Against Video Game Warning Label Bill H.R. 4204". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  17. ^ Kern, Mark [@Grummz] (June 17, 2015). "That is F()&#$%king it! I AM NOW #GAMERGATE !!!!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 17, 2015 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Royce, Bree (April 22, 2016). "Vanilla WoW petition hits 200K signatures, invokes Mark Kern". Massively Overpowered.
  19. ^ Hussain, Suhauna (October 31, 2019). "After layoffs and a PR disaster, some Blizzard employees are dreading BlizzCon". Los Angeles Times.
  20. ^ Wood, Anthony (August 21, 2023). "Starfield Leaked Start Screen Discourse Addressed by Bethesda's Head of Publishing". IGN. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  21. ^ Mercante, Alyssa (March 6, 2024). "Sweet Baby Inc. Doesn't Do What Some Gamers Think It Does". Kotaku.
  22. ^ Shankar, Bradly (March 16, 2024). "More games now include diverse characters, so losers are trying to start 'Gamergate 2'". MobileSyrup – via MSN.
  23. ^ Hall, Alexander (March 11, 2024). "Entertainment insider says ESG funding is why woke entertainment keeps getting made despite losing audiences". Fox News Digital.
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