Game Taco names Leif Simonson as Vice President
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021 – Game Taco, one of the nation’s premier skill-based mobile gaming platforms enabling players to compete for fun and cash prizes, today named veteran game designer Leif Simonson, Vice President, Games. The announcement was made by Game Taco Founder & CEO, Joshua Barrow to whom Simonson reports.
Simonson, who has spent more than two decades as a game designer, is responsible for updating and optimizing the existing Game Taco and WorldWinner portfolios, developing an aggressive plan to release at least a dozen new titles in 2022 while scaling the company’s production capacity. He will also manage currently licensed products while adding third-party content to Game Taco’s platform.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to add a creative talent like Leif to Game Taco’s senior management team,” said Barrow. “To be the best, you have to work with the best, and that’s the foundation upon which we’re building this company. Leif has a track record of innovation and achievement at every career stop, and we look forward to using his experience to execute our vision to pursue a much bigger share of the growing, multi-billion-dollar skill-based game industry.”
Simonson moves to Game Taco after spending the last two years as Lead Designer for real money games at Tether Studios, a position he also held in 2017 into 2018. While at Tether, he implemented designs and project-managed dozens of original Esports and real money game titles, with several reaching the App Store top 20. Simonson-created games include 21 Blitz, Yatzy Royale, One Solitaire, Texas Solitaire, and Backgammon Blitz. He also redesigned Bubble Cube 2, increasing revenue by a factor of 10, and optimized Tether’s entire portfolio, increasing revenue an average of 25% across the board.
“I’ve loved skill games ever since I was a kid plugging quarters into arcade slots,” said Simonson. “After hearing about Game Taco’s vision for the platform and the future of skill- gaming, plus their acquisition of WorldWinner and its rock-star team, I was all in. I’m confident this company is poised to become the major player in this industry, boasting several advantages over the competition. The insights I’ve gained working with the geniuses at Tether will be invaluable as we rapidly prototype and produce high quality, polished titles internally and for external partners coming onto the platform.”Between stints at Tether, Simonson served as Creative Director at FreeRange Games, leading design and product management for the real money skill-gaming/Esports division and other projects. He also served as lead designer at FreeRange from 2010 to 2012.
Simonson left FreeRange in 2013 and founded Helaware, serving as its CEO for over five years before FreeRange acquired it. He also held senior design positions at daqri and Shaba Games.
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About Game Taco
Game Taco is an online skill-based game tournament platform designed to provide a fun, friendly, and trusted destination for users to play skill-based games against opponents of similar ability for fun and cash prizes. In addition to classic games like Solitaire, Game Taco is a provider of Atari skill games, including Breakout, Asteroids, and Centipede. Like Game Taco, WorldWinner.com and the WorldWinner app offer tournaments for players of all skill levels featuring many of the world’s favorite games, including Wheel of Fortune®, The Price Is Right Super Plinko®, SCRABBLE Cubes, Bejeweled, TRIVIAL PURSUIT, Two Dots, and Angry Birds.
WorldWinner is also recognized for in-house game development and making its vast collection of renowned licensed games available in a single destination. Earlier this year, Platinum Equity acquired a controlling interest in Game Taco and WorldWinner, which, when combined, create
the leading premium skill-games platform in the U.S., boasting IP rights to over 200 branded and generic titles. For additional information, please visit GameTaco.com.
Media Contact:
Lou D’Ermilio – LOUD Communications // lou@loudcommllc.com // (917) 601-6898
