YANG LIU

Age: 29

Cofounder, End Game Interactive

As a kid, Chinese immigrant Liu didn’t have pocket money to spend on a PlayStation, so he made do with free internet browser games. “That shaped the kind of games we’re making today,” Liu says. End Game Interactive, which he cofounded with Luke Zbihlyj in 2018, creates simple but addictive online games. One of its early successes, a 2D multiplayer battle game developed in just four weeks, has attracted 65 million players and will earn over $4 million in revenue this year. End Game recently raised $3 million from high-profile investors like Unity Technologies cofounder David Helgason, Twitch cofounder Kevin Lin and talent manager Scooter Braun. Instead of spending “four or five years” on a single game, the company’s 20-person team focuses on releasing simpler games faster. “It’s just, keep having shots on goal,” Liu says.

JUDGES: Steve Arhancet, owner, Team Liquid; Siobhan Reddy, studio director, Media Molecule; Kellee Santiago, head of developer relations, Niantic; Hanako Tjia, agent, United Talent (Under 30 Class of 2020)