Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

How Gamesalad Can Help You Create Your Own Video Game This Austin company can turn almost anyone into a game developer.

By Gwen Moran

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It's one thing to post a few cute animal videos on YouTube or populate a Facebook page with photos and status updates. But it's something else to think that anyone can create video games. Or is it? That's a bias GameSalad, an Austin, Texas-based video game development company, is trying to turn on its head.

Michael Agustin and friends Tan Tran and Daniel Treiman founded the company in 2007. Each had great jobs in the tech field--with collective experience at Apple, Edge of Reality, Hotels.com and Epic Systems--and Agustin had earned a master's degree in entertainment technology from Carnegie Mellon as part of the video game development curriculum led by the late Randy Pausch, author of the bestselling book The Last Lecture. But the drum beat of "user-generated content" and the success of companies like YouTube left the trio wanting more. Together, they had the resources needed to develop and launch a platform to share their interest in game development with the masses.

They decided to move to Austin, a creative city with a low cost of living where their less-than-$20,000 self-funded startup capital would go further than in Silicon Valley. Launched as Gendai Games (the name change to GameSalad came in 2010), the company offered an easy-to-use platform with drag-and-drop features, allowing anyone with minimal gaming and computer skills to become a developer.

This is a subscriber-only article. Join Entrepreneur+ today for access

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2023

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2023.

Data & Recovery

Get a Cybersecurity and IT Bootcamp For $39.97

Help keep your digital assets safe with cybersecurity courses (reg. $754) on sale for a limited time.

Money & Finance

Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules.

Too many entrepreneurs are counting too heavily on a company exit for their eventual 'win.' Do this instead.

Devices

Limited-Time Price Drop: Dual-Camera Drones for $110

Get an Alpha Z Pro 4K and Flying Fox drone bundle before supply runs out.

Leadership

How to Master Decision-Making in a World Full of Options

Use these seven practical strategies to make more effective business choices.

Travel

Travel Smarter With a $40 Member-Exclusive Club

Travel for less with $59 off a one-year Travel Buyers Club membership.