Black Gaming Entrepreneur Lands Deal With Xbox

A Minnesota-based entrepreneur is making power moves in the gaming industry. According to Kare 11, Charles McGregor—the man behind the state’s first Black-owned gaming development studio—has inked a deal with Xbox.

The 26-year-old—who owns the company Tribe Games—developed a passion for video games at an early age. As a youngster, he became infatuated with how they were created. McGregor’s father taught him about programming and by the age of 11 he started developing his own video games. Years later, he turned his passion for gaming into a career and launched Tribe Games.

One of the games he created, dubbed HyperDot, caught the attention of Xbox and was acquired by the company. The game, which is described as a “minimalist action arcade masterpiece,” was released on January 31. McGregor says teaming up with Xbox is a childhood dream fulfilled. “This has been a childhood dream of mine. Being able to finally go there with Microsoft is phenomenal,” he said. “We are able to reach out to Microsoft and collaborate. This past year we have been able to go to various events with them and be able to promote and they have helped us out in a multitude of ways.”

McGregor says he hopes his accomplishment inspires youth of color to pursue careers in gaming. Research shows that only 3 percent of game developers are African American, and he’s on a mission to change the narrative surrounding that statistic. “It is never presented as hey this is a thing you can go to. You can do this and create these things and participate in the community of video games,” he said.

There are a few Black entrepreneurs who are redefining the gaming industry. Detroit native Delane Parnell launched an eSports startup called PlayVS that raised $50 million in September.

SEE ALSO:

This Black Millennial Is Disrupting The E-Gaming Industry

Black Millennial Entrepreneur Raises $30.5M During Series B Funding

[ione_media_gallery id=”3845233″ overlay=”true”]

Link to original source