John Race
Petaluma,CA
Summary
Production leader with 20+ years in AAA and live-service franchises, successfully leading diverse teams in engineering, art, and design. Expert in translating creative visions into actionable plans, managing multi-million-dollar budgets, and ensuring quality and schedule adherence. Proven track record of driving projects from concept to global launch.
Overview
34
34
years of professional experience
Work History
SENIOR PRODUCER
Visual Concepts
Novato, CA
08.2017 - 04.2026
- Directed full-lifecycle production for MyRISE within the WWE 2K franchise, leading cross-functional pods from concept through global launch. Led a core team of roughly 30, scaling to 50+ with cross-departmental contributors, against a WWE 2K production budget north of $50 million.
- Eliminated manual scripting by developing GhostWriter, enhancing narrative flexibility and reducing scripting overhead.
- Led senior engineering pod to modernize legacy camera systems into a modular data schema, improving cinematic capability and iteration speed across all game modes.
- Streamlined live broadcast presentation reproduction, expediting arena rollouts with a new asset management system.
- Pipeline Automation: Automated cutscene production and removed cross-department friction by directing a pipeline that fused body and facial animation directly into text assets, speeding runtime configuration.
- (Hybrid)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
TimePlay Entertainment
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
02.2004 - 08.2017
- Co-invented and helped patent the scalable TimePlay platform, an app-driven interactive cinema ecosystem adopted by major theater chains, cruise lines, and commercial venues worldwide. Built and directed multi-site engineering and production organizations across the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
- Global team leadership: Delivered custom interactive products for brands including Ford, McDonald's, and Canon by recruiting and directing distributed development and operations teams across U.S., U.K., and Canada, significantly enhancing brand engagement and audience experiences.
- Platform invention: Scaled patented interactive-cinema technology to millions of installations, advancing from hardware prototypes to commercial pilots within three years, pivoting to a smartphone-app model that enabled national rollout in Canada and launched across cruise ships, bars, cinemas, and casinos.
- Live product delivery: Oversaw technical deployment and real-time live-ops architecture, ensuring reliable performance at scale for flagship properties Powerplay and Deal or No Deal Live!, driving audience retention and satisfaction.
- Provided on-site support to facilitate project operations.
PRODUCER
Vivendi Universal Games
02.2003 - 02.2004
- Directed product roadmaps and portfolio strategy for the high-profile Lord of the Rings license, overseeing roughly $50 million in combined project budgets across two external studios, a 20-person team in Austin and a 160-person team in Seattle, supported by two associate producers, safeguarding brand alignment and creative consistency across concurrent development efforts.
- Directed multi-title roadmaps and lifecycle planning for the Tolkien portfolio, reinforcing brand alignment across projects.
- Evaluated external studios for creative and technical readiness, securing executive greenlight approval while unifying global stakeholders.
- Partnered with international divisions to align licensing requirements with production realities, ensuring concept-stage titles remained on schedule.
PRODUCER
THQ, Inc.
05.2002 - 05.2003
- Steered high-visibility global launch of a million-selling WWE RAW franchise, coordinating cross-functional teams to meet release commitments.
- Directed international co-development at Anchor, a 150-person Tokyo studio, managing collaboration with Yukes, a 200-plus-person studio, while leading two associate producers to align production goals through cross-cultural workflows with translators.
- Unified production timelines and deliverables by directing collaboration with Tokyo-based partners and translating workflows into shared objectives.
- Stabilized unpredictable development lifecycle and enhanced delivery visibility by introducing granular milestone and production-tracking systems.
PRODUCER
Visual Concepts Entertainment
05.2000 - 05.2002
- Directed original software from concept to launch, bringing new franchise to market and aligning creative, engineering, and talent direction.
- Led 12-person internal development team with $2 million development spend from concept to launch, directing talent, motion capture sessions, and cross-functional workflows on original IP title.
- Oversaw talent casting and motion capture production, enabling a complex technical pipeline for simultaneous 1-4 player split-screen and online multiplayer.
- Critical Reception: Earned a 9.4-out-of-10 review score from IGN and broad acclaim for multiplayer design by producing and designing Ooga Booga for the Sega Dreamcast.
PRODUCER
Berkeley Systems, Inc.
09.1996 - 05.2000
- Produced four original multiplayer launch titles for AOL Instant Messenger, facilitating platform delivery and managing licensing approvals for Orcs: Revenge of the Ancient with Tolkien Enterprises.
- Evaluated external development studios to expand the production pipeline while producing franchise and platform titles for two major consumer networks. Led a 16-person team across engineering, art, audio, QA, and production against roughly $1 million in budgets, showing early multi-discipline project leadership.
- Expanded development pipeline by vetting external studios and enhancing core content management tools through bi-weekly updates in You Don't Know Jack: Online v1.5, collaborating with co-development writing partner Jellyvision.
Producer
Enteraktion, Inc.
01.1994 - 01.1996
- Established agile and milestone-tracking practices to ensure predictable delivery of early-stage interactive concepts in venture-backed startup.
- Collaborated with designers and developers to ensure a cohesive game vision and execution.
- Managed game production schedules and coordinated team efforts for timely releases.
- Facilitated cross-departmental communication, streamlining workflow and enhancing project update processes.
Producer
Snow Lion Entertainment
01.1992 - 01.1994
- Developed multimedia concepts for digital entertainment, collaborating with creative and engineering teams to drive content innovation.
- Coordinated with cross-functional teams to align the creative vision and ensure cohesive project execution.
- Managed project timelines and budgets for multiple game development titles.
- Managed quality assurance processes to uphold gameplay standards and improve user experience.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Screenwriting and Production (Individualized Major Program)
Indiana University, Bloomington
Bloomington, IN06-1990
Skills
- Cross-functional leadership
- Pipeline Automation
- Executive Stakeholder Reporting
- Project management
- Production budgeting
- Agile methodology
- Risk management
- Capacity & Staffing Planning
- Live-ops management
- Collaborative Development
- Greenlight & Concept Evaluation
- Licensing Strategy
- Feature Roadmap
- Talent development
- Contract negotiation
Personal Information
Title: SENIOR PRODUCER
HONORS & PATENTS
Co-inventor of two related patents, “Large-Screen Gaming System and Facility Therefor” and “System and Facility for Large-Screen Gaming System,” granted across Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, Finland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, China, and Australia between 2008 and 2011., Volunteer Production Staff, LiveEarth Johannesburg (2007): Coordinated talent and stage-managed the annual live broadcast, and co-wrote the event script.
Timeline
SENIOR PRODUCER
Visual Concepts
08.2017 - 04.2026
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
TimePlay Entertainment
02.2004 - 08.2017
PRODUCER
Vivendi Universal Games
02.2003 - 02.2004
PRODUCER
THQ, Inc.
05.2002 - 05.2003
PRODUCER
Visual Concepts Entertainment
05.2000 - 05.2002
PRODUCER
Berkeley Systems, Inc.
09.1996 - 05.2000
Producer
Enteraktion, Inc.
01.1994 - 01.1996
Producer
Snow Lion Entertainment
01.1992 - 01.1994
Bachelor of Arts - Screenwriting and Production (Individualized Major Program)
Indiana University, Bloomington