Jon "Jops" Hare was born on January 20, 1966, in Ilford, Essex, England. He is a renowned English computer game designer, game artist, and musician. Along with Chris Yates, Hare co-founded Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.
Throughout his illustrious career, Hare has achieved numerous milestones. He has had a total of 11 #1 games titles, including #1 soccer games in four consecutive decades. Some of his most notable works include the Sensible Soccer series, the Cannon Fodder series, and Mega Lo Mania.
Hare was the lead designer, creative director, and predominant lead artist and musical composer of many Sensible Software titles. Prior to that, he was co-designer and lead artist of all of Sensible's games, including Parallax, Wizball, Microprose Soccer, SEUCK, and Wizkid.
In 2013, a biographical book about Sensible Software, featuring extensive interviews with Hare and numerous other Sensible members and game industry personalities, was launched by independent book publisher ROM. The book, written by games journalist Gary Penn, was the first ever book about the computer games industry to feature in the BAFTA library and archive in Piccadilly, London.
Hare is also the sole owner and one of the original founders of games company Tower Studios, founded in 2004. The company has developed a number of successful titles, including mobile phone versions of Cannon Fodder and Sensible Soccer.
In addition to his work in the gaming industry, Hare is a prolific songwriter and has featured in a number of bands over the years as a singer and guitarist. He has also been a frequent musical collaborator with Richard Joseph, with whom he co-wrote and arranged all of Sensible Software's best-known musical tracks.
Since 2017, Hare has been Visiting Professor of Games at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Prior to this, he was a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, London, and has spoken and mentored at numerous national and international lectures on games design, business, and his career.
Hare has been a voting member of BAFTA across all media since 2004 and has been a frequent Chair of BAFTA Games Awards juries.
