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Private company

42 Entertainment

American video game development company

42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing alternate reality games (ARGs). The company was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the name 4orty 2wo Entertainment. The company started with a nine-person management team and was originally based in Emeryville, California.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

2003Founded1

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42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing alternate reality games (ARGs). The company was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the name 4orty 2wo Entertainment. The company started with a nine-person management team and was originally based in Emeryville, California. It produced several alternate reality games between 2004 and 2014, as well as campaigns for the movie The Dark Knight, and the Nine Inch Nails Year Zero album.2

The story

Pre-founding

While the company did not officially launch until 2003, many of those who would become the management team were involved with creating and producing "The Beast" for Warner Brothers to promote the Steven Spielberg film A.I. The project was developed by Microsoft.

Founding

The company began as 4orty 2wo Entertainment in 2003 and was launched by a management team which included Bob Fagan, Elan Lee, Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman from the team which created "The Beast". Notable employees and collaborators between 2003 and 2006 also included Susan Bonds, Joe DiNunzio, Jane McGonigal, Jim Stewartson and John Ziffren.

Merge with 3 Pin Media

In early 2006, 42 Entertainment merged with 3 Pin Media. The executive team of Michael Borys, Alex Lieu and Johnny Rodriquez joined the company at this time.

Changes in 2007

In 2007, Jordan Weisman left the company to found Smith & Tinker. That same year, Elan Lee, Sean Stewart and Jim Stewartson stepped down to found Fourth Wall Studios.

Changes in 2008

Creatives Steve Peters, Maureen McHugh and Behnam Karbassi left the company in late 2008, and founded No Mimes Media in March 2009.

From Wikipedia’s article on 42 Entertainment, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 2003Founded Founded1

Sources

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