Introduction
In this modern tech era, video games are no doubt one of the most popular technologies humans have designed. Yet, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to design and develop games that can have the world’s attention. John Romero is one of the personalities that have reached many heights in the video game industry. If you’re someone who loves games and has a technical brain, you would be knowing him! It is very interesting to know what got him into this career, his early and current life, along his net worth.
About John Romero
John Romero is an award-winning video game developer, designer, and programmer. At the tender age of eight, he stepped into the interesting world of gaming. Today, he is the founder of “Id Software” which is a gaming company. He is the proud winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Legend Award which he won in 2017.
He has designed some very popular games like Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, DOOM, DOOM II, Quake, and many others. He has founded and collaborated with many gaming companies and today John is counted as one of the top-notch video developers on the planet.
Early Life & Family
His real name is Alfonso John Romero. John was born on 28 October 1967 to Alfonso Antonio Romero and Ginny Schuneman in Colorado, USA. His father used to work as a repairman. One of the early influences which John had was of the game Space Invaders and Pacman (1980). He started designing video games in 1980 on an Apple device that was given to him by a friend. He is a self-taught programmer who had no formal education. He has struggled much to own the skills he has today. He used to get up very early in the morning to reach a local computer lab. He also maintained a few side hustles to aid his pocket.
Currently, Romero is married to Brenda Romero, who is a programmer herself. They married in 2012. For most of his adult life, he has been married– Kelly Mitchell (1987-1989), Elizabeth Ann McCall (1990-1998), Raluca Alexander Plesca (2004-2011). He has also dated Stevie Case from 1998 to 2003. John has three children in total.
John Romero’s Career And Milestones
His bright career, which is around three-decades-long, has won him many awards and titles. Even in his fifties, he hasn’t stopped working yet.
- In 1984, he published his first game with the name “Scout Search”.
- His first job was at Origin System, where he worked for 8 years starting from 1987.
- Romero left to co-found Inside Out Software, a gaming company.
- In 1990 he along with John D Carmack popularized the gaming mode, “First-Person Shooting.”
- John Romeo co-founded Id Software in 1991 where he produced popular games like Wolfenstein and Quake.
- He also owns a website “rome.ro”
- In March 2010, he became a guest editor for the magazine Retro Gamer.
Few Things You Didn’t Know About John Romero
- With his rockstar personality, he was vaguely held responsible for making the youth angry and aggressive during the 90s.
- John occasionally sells his merchandise and autographs through his website.
- In 1996, he was awarded and named as the most influential person in computer gaming of all time.
Net Worth
John’s net worth as of 2024 is around $20 million. All of his earnings come from his company Id Software and video games that he develops and publishes.
