Nearly 50 years after Atari’s release of Pong, video games sales continue to boom. And with the additions of relatively new innovations like mobile gaming and cloud gaming, the once-overlooked market could be catapulted into a $300 billion mega-industry by 2025, according to at least one report.
One person already reaping the monetary rewards of video game development is British entrepreneur Paul Wedgwood, a former engineer turned co-founder and CEO of games maker Splash Damage. As the developer behind hit first-person shooters such as “Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory,” “Doom 3,” “Dirty Bomb,” and “Enemy Territory: Clone Wars,” Wedgwood and his team quickly grew the studio into one of the most successful UK operations of its kind.
Back in 2016, Splash Damage was sold to a Chinese poultry company in a deal reportedly valued at up to $150 million. Though Wedgwood remained the firm’s CEO for a time, he stepped down a few months ago — after 17 years at the helm — to focus on other, publicly unspecified endeavors.
At least one of those new projects, apparently, involves a move to Los Angeles. Records reveal Wedgwood recently plunked down a hefty $6.73 million for a fully-renovated house tucked into the mountains high above Beverly Hills. (Though the property has the coveted 90210 zip code, it’s technically located in a neighborhood of L.A. city known as Beverly Hills Post Office.)
Marketed as a “sophisticated and very private entertainer’s home,” the 1960s structure began life as a humble midcentury ranch-style abode but has been extensively remodeled several times over the ensuing decades. In its current iteration as a glammed-out contemporary, the house features walls of glass and an airy, open-concept floorplan of nearly 5,500 square feet.
Set on a quiet cul-de-sac shared with only two other homes, the property features a two-car garage and a massive oak front door that pivots inward, directly into an enormous living/dining/family room combination with sunset views.
The chic, sleek kitchen has Italian-designed cabinetry, a marble-topped center island, and the full range of pricey Miele appliances. Other spaces include a library/office with custom bookshelves, a games room, three guest/family bedrooms, and a master suite with a roomy bedroom and spa-like bathroom, both of which open to outdoor terraces.
Outside, the irregularly shaped pool includes an inset hexagonal spa and a Baja shelf for watery sunbathing. And while the backyard isn’t particularly large, it does include a firepit and wee patch of lawn, plus lush views that sweep directly over Coldwater Canyon.
Some of Wedgwood’s more high-profile new neighbors include John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Milla Jovovich, Formula One star Daniel Ricciardo, and veteran producer Robert Shaye..
