Michael V. Capps or Mike Capps is an American video game designer who was the president of

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

, based in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

from 2002 to 2012. In 2018, he co-founded a new artificial intelligence company called Howso. He has been described as "a legendary figure in the video game industry."

Early life

Capps attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, graduating ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with degrees in math and creative writing in 1994. He also earned his MS in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996. Capps then went on to complete an SM in computer science and electrical engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1998, followed by a Ph.D. in computer science from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in 2002.

Career

Naval Postgraduate School

Before entering the game industry, Capps served as a research assistant professor at the

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1998 to 2002. His areas of specialization were computer graphics, defense and entertainment collaboration, and

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

. For his work in these areas, he was one of fifty graphics pioneers interviewed for the

ACM SIGGRAPH ACM SIGGRAPH is the international Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques based in New York. It was founded in 1969 by Andy van Dam (its direct predecessor, ACM SICGRAPH was ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

'' The Story of Computer Graphics''. Capps was selected by the Army's Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis (OEMA) to head its development team that was charged with designing a fun military video game. He became the producer, designer and lead programmer of the America’s Army computer game. He used Epic's Games'

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...

to build the game.

Scion Studios

In 2002, Capps founded a video game company, Scion Studios, and became its CEO. Scion was acquired by Epic Games in March 2004.

Epic Games

Capps has been a game designer, executive producer, head writer, lead programmer, research professor, and studio executive. He is best known for his decade as the president of

, makers of the mega-hit ''

Gears of War ''Gears of War'' (also referred to as ''Gears'') is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition (company), The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The ...

'', '' Infinity Blade'', ''

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...

'' franchises, and the award-winning ''

''. Under his leadership, Epic was named Studio of the Year at the 2006

Spike Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by '' GameT ...

, the North Carolina Technology Association 2007 Large Company of the Year, and the NCTA 2008 Top Industry Driven Technology Company of the Year. In addition, Gears of War won the Best Game and the Technology Award at

Game Developers Choice Awards The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding video game developer, game developers and video game, games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by ...

in 2007. Capps also successfully defended video games using free speech before the U.S. Supreme Court. He stepped down from the post of president in December 2012.

Autarch

Capps is co-owner of Autarch LLC, responsible for award-winning tabletop role-playing games, such as ''Adventurer Conqueror King''.

Howso (formerly Diveplane)

In 2018, Capps co-founded and became the CEO of Diveplane Corporation, an artificial intelligence start-up company based in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, along with Dr. Chris Hazard and Mike Resnick. Diveplane has eighteen employees and is backed by $3.5 million. It is working the areas of healthcare and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

racing simulation. In 2019, Diveplane won first place at the UBS Future of Finance Challenge for its platform, GEMINAI. In September 2023, Diveplane rebranded as Howso alongside the release of the open source version of the Howso Engine in a critical step towards meaningful social impact.

Television appearances

Capps is the technology futurist for the

Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...

's '' What on Earth?, Combat Countdown,'' and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's '' The Unexplained Files''. He has also been featured as a technology expert and futurist on multiple documentary series on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

and Military Channel.

Awards

* 2007

Best Game for ''

'' * 2007 Game Developers Choice Awards Technology for ''Gears of War'' * 2009 Technology Executive of the Year, North Carolina Technology Association * 2012 CEO of the Year, WRAL Tech Wire Full Steam Ahead Awards * 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. * 2016, Beacon Award for Lifetime Achievement, North Carolina Technology Association * Game Developer 50, '' Game Developer''

Professional affiliations

Capps currently serves on the board of the

Sphero Sphero, Inc. (formerly Orbotix) is an American consumer robotics and toy company based in Boulder, Colorado. Their first product, the Sphero, is a white spherical robot launched in December 2011 capable of rolling around under the control of a s ...

entertainment robotics company in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and is the chairman of the advisory board for the Lonerider Brewing Company. He also serves on the board of Epic Games. He also served as an advisor to the

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...

and the Video Games track. He was a member of the North Carolina Innovation Council. He is a frequent speaker at Dragon Con. He served on the boards of the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

, the

Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...

, the

International Game Developers Association The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorp ...

, and Remedy Entertainment in Finland. He was the Treasurer for the Board of the

IGDA The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorp ...

and was a member of the Entertainment Software Review Board.

Personal life

Capps became a stay-at-home father when his two children were born. He returned to work as his children became He is a member of Change the Equation. He also serves on the board of The Raleigh School.

Projects

Video games

Design

* '' America's Army: Operations'' (Epic Games, 2002)'''' * '' Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict'' (Epic Games, 2005)

Producer

* '' America's Army: Operations'' (2002)'''' * ''

'' (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios, 2006) *

Limited Collectors Edition (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios, 2006) * ''

Unreal Tournament 3 ''Unreal Tournament 3'' (''UT3'') is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Midway Games. Part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, it is the fourth game in the '' Unreal Tournament'' series, and the eighth ...

'' (Epic Games, 2007) * ''Gears of War Ultimate Edition'' (Epic Games, 2015)

Programming and engineering

* '' America's Army: Operations'' (2002)'''' * '' Unreal Tournament 2003'' (Epic Games, 2003) * ''

Unreal Tournament 2004 ''Unreal Tournament 2004'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, it is the third game in the '' Unreal Tournament'' series and an updated rerelease of '' Unre ...

'' (Epic Games, 2004) * '' Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict'' (Epic Games, 2005)

Writer

* ''

'' (Epic Games, 2007)

President

* '' Gears of War 2'' (Epic Games, 2008) * ''

Shadow Complex ''Shadow Complex'' is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Chair Entertainment in association with Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 in 2009. The game follows Jason and his girlfriend Cl ...

'' (Epic Games, 2009) *'' Infinity Blade'' (Epic Games, 2010) '''' *'' Infinity Blade II'' (Epic Games, 2011) *'' Gears of War 3'' (Epic Games, 2011) *'' Bulletstorm'' (Epic Games, 2011) *'' Gears of War: Judgment'' (Epic Games 2013)

Tabletop games

*''Marvel Multiverse Table Top Role Playing Game'' (Marvel, 2022)

Graphic novels

* ''Gears of War: Volume Two''. Wildstorm, 2011.

References

External links

Official website of Epic Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capps, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni Naval Postgraduate School faculty American video game businesspeople People from Raleigh, North Carolina American video game developers American video game designers