Jordan Weisman

Lore & Background

Weisman graduated from Francis W. Parker High School, in Chicago, Illinois. He went to the Merchant Marine Academy and briefly attended University of Illinois at Chicago, before leaving school to pursue his business interests. In 1980, he founded role playing game publisher FASA Corporation with partner L. Ross Babcock. FASA later produced the successful BattleTech and Shadowrun franchises.

In 1987, Weisman and his father Morton Weisman founded Environmental Simulations Project — later renamed Virtual Worlds Entertainment. In 1995, Weisman founded FASA Interactive with Denny Thorley and Morton Weisman to personally take over the development and production of the hit MechWarrior PC games. Microsoft acquired both Virtual World Entertainment Group and FASA Interactive on January 7, 1999; Microsoft rebranded FASA Interactive as FASA Studio.

In 2000, he founded WizKids. In 2003 he founded 42 Entertainment. In 2007 Weisman founded Smith & Tinker. In 2012 he started to raise money, through Kickstarter, for Shadowrun Returns.

His new company is Harebrained Schemes. In June 2018, it was announced and completed Harebrained's acquisition by Paradox Interactive.

Reader's Guide

Weisman has won more than 100 awards, including election to the Hall of Fame by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. In 2003 he was selected as the Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. In 2022, The Peabody Awards announced a new category for digital and interactive storytelling, including legacy awards for notable projects. Weisman won for The Beast, along with Sean Stewart, Pete Fenlon, and Elan Lee.