Bing Gordon

an inventory of a life

The work.

Forty-five years at the intersection of play, product, and people. A chronology. Hover (or tap) an entry to see its preview. The deeper story on each one is behind a sign-in.

  1. 2026

    Everybody Wins

    A book, with Chloe Gordon

    Co-written with his daughter Chloe. Portfolio / Penguin Random House, October 27 2026. Codifies the eight-element gamification checklist.

  2. now

    The Subject

    A portrait

    The man himself. Copywriter, game-maker, venture partner, teacher.

  3. 2026

    Mnemom

    Board director

    Bing joined the Mnemom board in 2026.

  4. now

    Bingo Bango

    Stand-up surfing, Costa Rica

    The family calls him Bingo Bango. He SUP-surfs with Debra, Chloe, and Allegra.

  5. 2012

    Duolingo

    Board director

    Duolingo board. Language learning as a game loop, per the gamification checklist.

  6. 2011

    Twitch

    Portfolio, through Amazon

    Twitch. The live-stream gaming community that turned viewing into participation.

  7. 2011

    Spotify

    Portfolio advisor, through the early years

    Daniel Ek had four prior failed products before Spotify. Repeat-founder thesis in action.

  8. 2008

    Zynga

    Board director

    Zynga board director. Farmville, Mafia Wars, Zynga Poker — the social-games canon of the 2010s.

  9. 2008

    Kleiner Perkins

    Chief Product Officer, sFund

    Partner and Chief Product Officer since 2008. Ran the sFund. Founded ProductWorks.

  10. 2005

    USC Cinematic Arts

    First endowed chair, game design

    The first endowed chair in game design at USC School of Cinematic Arts, under President Steve Sample.

  11. 2003

    Amazon

    Board director, 2003-2017

    Joined the Amazon board in 2003, through the 2001 turnaround playbook and out to Prime. 14-year term.

  12. 2000

    The Sims

    Forecast $3M. Shipped $5B.

    Pitched as an architecture game. Became a storytelling engine. 200M units, 16 expansion packs, and the moment a colleague's daughter sobbed “Zelda killed my Mommy.”

  13. 1998

    Tiger Woods PGA Tour

    Personalization as a 2× lever

    Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Golf course should look hard, play easy — and personalization lifted unit sales +50%.

  14. 1995

    Audible

    Founding director

    Founding director of Audible. The audiobook market, built before it was obvious there was one.

  15. 1995

    Command & Conquer

    Strategy, contained

    Westwood's real-time strategy canon, acquired into EA's franchise stable.

  16. 1994

    Need for Speed

    Reinvent the core, every generation

    Bing's recurring case study for franchise renewal: Test Drive → NFS → Underground. 'Listen to your teenage dreams.'

  17. 1990s

    EA Sports

    Branding strategy, pricing, studio structure

    The divisional brand Bing's marketing organization built, covering Madden, FIFA, NHL, NBA Live, Tiger Woods, and more. 'It's in the game.'

  18. 1989

    SimCity

    Will Wright's first great system

    The first city-builder that became a genre. Foundation for what The Sims would later prove at 10× scale.

  19. 1988

    John Madden Football

    Research said no. Shipped anyway.

    Research preferred “Touchdown Football” 60/25/15. EA shipped it anyway. 150M units, $7.5B lifetime.

  20. 1983

    Pinball Construction Set

    EA's killer app on the floppy era

    Bill Budge's tool-as-game, among EA's first hits. The kind of killer app that defines a platform generation — Bing's recurring case study for 'ship early, first to digitize a hobby.'

  21. 1982

    Amazin' Software

    Founding marketing — Electronic Arts

    EA's original name. Bing joined as a one-person marketing department and helped write the business plan that pulled Kleiner Perkins in as first investor.