{{Short description|American businessman}} {{Infobox person | name = John Baez | image = John Baez, Gamelab 2018 (43135071531) (cropped).jpg | image_caption = Baez in 2018 | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = [[Businessman]], [[Video game developer]] | years_active = | employer = | organization = | known_for = {{ubl|''[[Alien Hominid]]''|''[[Castle Crashers]]''|''[[BattleBlock Theater]]''|''[[Pit People]]''|''[[Alien Hominid Invasion]]''}} }}
'''John Baez''' is an American businessman and game developer. Known for co-founding indie developer [[The Behemoth]], he currently serves as the CEO and President.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with The Behemoth |url=https://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2010/01/interview-with-the-behemoth/ |website=Capsule Computers |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref> Baez was previously a 3D artist at Gratuitous Games.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Baez - person |url=https://www.giantbomb.com/john-baez/3040-57660/ |website=Giant Bomb |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Behemoth CEO John Baez discusses porting games to Switch |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/113838/the-behemoth-ceo-john-baez-discusses-porting-games-to-switch |website=Shacknews |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref>
== Career == In August 2002, [[Tom Fulp]] and [[Dan Paladin]] collaborated in creating the Flash game ''[[Alien Hominid]]'' for Fulp's website [[Newgrounds]]. Baez, a co-worker of Paladin, approached him and offered to produce the game if it were developed for consoles. Shortly after, [[The Behemoth]] was founded in 2003. Their first release on home consoles, ''Alien Hominid'', received critical acclaim from games media, and The Behemoth quickly gained status as a prominent indie developer.
Baez, Fulp, and Paladin frequently attend trade events and conventions as The Behemoth. Baez claimed, "If you’re an independent gaming developer, going to trade shows is a lot more important than you might think".<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview - The Behemoth |url=https://gamingtrend.com/interviews/laugh-until-you-pee-dan-paladin-and-john-balez-on-the-behemoths-15-years-at-sdcc/ |website=Gamingtrend |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref>
The success of ''Alien Hominid'' allowed the team to begin development on ''[[Castle Crashers]]''. ''Castle Crashers'' was a smash hit on Xbox Live Arcade when it launched in 2008. The game was part of the first Summer of Arcade promotion held by [[Xbox]]. It sold over 2 million copies by 2010 and began The Behemoth's relationship with Microsoft during the [[Xbox 360]] console generation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Castle Crashers 2 million Xbox Live players. |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/castle-crashers-2-million-xbox-live-players |website=Gamesindustry.biz |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=24 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624185135/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/castle-crashers-2-million-xbox-live-players |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2013, Baez was interviewed about the instability of indie video game development. He claimed studios are constantly balancing the cost of development against the number of expected customers. Even with ''Castle Crashers''{{'}} massive success, the studio's development process didn't change.<ref>{{cite web |title=Industry instability is here to stay, says The Behemoth |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/industry-instability-is-here-to-stay-says-the-behemoth |website=Gamesindustry.biz |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=16 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250516074057/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/industry-instability-is-here-to-stay-says-the-behemoth |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2024, The Behemoth celebrated its 21st anniversary. Following ''Castle Crashers'', they released ''[[Battleblock Theater]]'' (2013), ''[[Pit People]]'' (2017), ''[[Alien Hominid Invasion]]'' (2023), and ''[[Behemoth (game)|Behemoth]]'' (2024).<ref>{{cite web |title=Castle Crashers studios announces brand new game, BEHEMOTH |url=https://www.thumbculture.co.uk/castle-crashers-studios-announces-brand-new-game-behemoth |website=Thumb Culture |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=29 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129045937/https://www.thumbculture.co.uk/castle-crashers-studios-announces-brand-new-game-behemoth |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Games == {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Game ! Year released |- | ''[[Alien Hominid]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Classic Postmortem: The Behemoth's Alien Hominid (2004) |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/classic-postmortem-the-behemoth-s-i-alien-hominid-i- |website=Gamedeveloper |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=9 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809161040/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/classic-postmortem-the-behemoth-s-i-alien-hominid-i- |url-status=live }}</ref> | 2004 |- | ''[[Castle Crashers]]'' | 2008 |- | ''[[Battleblock Theater]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Battleblock Theater |url=https://xblafans.com/battleblock-theater-is-finally-out-what-took-so-long-65801.html |website=XBLAfans |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815020842/https://xblafans.com/battleblock-theater-is-finally-out-what-took-so-long-65801.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | 2013 |- | ''[[Pit People]]'' | 2017 |- | ''[[Alien Hominid Invasion]]'' | 2023 |- | ''[[Behemoth (game)|Behemoth]]'' | 2024 |- |}
== Personal life == Baez resides in [[San Diego, California]], where The Behemoth studio is headquartered.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Baez |url=https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/386183/The+Behemoth+-+John+Baez+Interview/ |website=Game Reactor |access-date=30 June 2025 |archive-date=25 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125234217/https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/386183/The+Behemoth+-+John+Baez+Interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baez, John}} [[Category:Indie game developers]] [[Category:The Behemoth]] [[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:American video game programmers]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]]