Daniel
Barnes

I am a Gamer, a Founder, and a Creator. There is nothing I enjoy more than building true, deep, immersive digital experiences that bring players genuine delight. I have spent fifteen years chasing that — and learning, sometimes the hard way, what it actually takes to make it happen.

What I have come to understand is that great games rarely fail because of bad ideas. They fail because the business around them is not built to support them. The P&L that nobody owns. The roadmap with no accountability behind it. The org that has grown faster than its decision-making infrastructure. I am problem-centric about this, which does not mean I am negative — I think of myself as an optimist, but through the lens of the challenges between where I am and where I want to be.

At N3TWORK I built the operating infrastructure behind $250m in revenue on a single title, negotiated a publishing deal with The Tetris Company, and raised $78.9m in institutional capital. At Phoenix Labs I stepped into a studio with real creative ambition and significant operational complexity, made the hard portfolio calls with full decision-making authority, and reduced monthly burn from $11m to $3.5m while protecting the titles worth saving. I founded Rift, built a technology platform and live game in 18 months on $250k pre-seed, and made a clean decision to wind down when the funding environment shifted. I am now President at Mavan, where we have grown revenue 4x and built the operational foundation the business needed to scale properly.

I believe in radical candor, the golden rule, and the Mike Tyson principle: everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. The ability to adapt quickly to new information is one of the most underrated skills in this industry. I try to practise it every day.

Currently in London with my wife and three children, after a decade split between the Bay Area and Europe. I love my family, France, football, and food. In that order, mostly.