In 1983, Van Caneghem founded New World Computing, a publisher and
developer of video games for computers and
consoles. Their first title was the medieval fantasy
Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum—one of the first role-playing games to feature detailed drawings of both indoor and outdoor locations. It debuted in 1986 for the
Apple II. The series went on to include nine bestselling games, all of which Van Caneghem co-created. In 1990 Van Caneghem released ''
King's Bounty, the forerunner of the Heroes of Might and Magic'' series of seven games which feature turn-based, fantasy-themed conflicts in which players control armies of mythical creatures. In the following 20 years as president and CEO of New World Computing, Van Caneghem oversaw the publishing of more than 250 titles worldwide. Van Caneghem sold New World Computing to developer and publisher
3DO in 1996 for US$13 million. He remained with 3DO as president and "lead visionary" until 2003 when 3DO filed for bankruptcy and eliminated its New World Computing division. The rights to the
Might and Magic name were purchased for $1.3 million by
Ubisoft, which revived the franchise with a new series under the same name. From 2004 to 2005, Van Caneghem worked at
NCSoft as executive producer of a
massively multiplayer online game. In 2006 Van Caneghem left NCSoft and launched
Trion World Network, headquartered in
Redwood City, California, after securing more than $100 million in investment capital from
Time Warner,
NBC Universal,
GE and
Bertelsmann. Trion produces
server-side games. Van Caneghem left Trion in 2009 and joined
Electronic Arts where he headed the video game giant's
Command & Conquer brand. Van Caneghem was responsible for extending the series online. On 29 October 2013, EA cancelled the development of the
Command & Conquer game and closed the development studio. In 2014, Caneghem founded VC Mobile Entertainment (VCME) with the goal to produce and publish
iOS and
Android games. Caneghem secured $4.5 million in capital investment from companies like Tencent and Pacific Sky Investments. VCME is based in Los Angeles, and currently has around 15 employees. Their first game,
Creature Quest, is a mobile game focused on collection of creatures with which to quest and explore. It is an RPG with turn-based combat similar to Might & Magic and isometric exploration reminiscent of Heroes of Might & Magic. It was launched globally early 2017, after a successful limited test launch in selected countries in Europe and Australia. As of February 2024, Creature Quest has been shut down indefinitely. == Awards ==