Angel Munoz, 39
Founder and President, Cyberathlete Professional League; Founder and President, Adrenaline Vault, Irving
Munoz is largely responsible for turning computer gaming into a full-fledged professional sport with corporate sponsorships and cash prizes. His Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), launched in 1997, hosts gaming conventions and tournaments all over the country; this year it will expand into Asia, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Europe. A onetime investment banker, Munoz also operates the Adrenaline Vault, one of the top gaming Web sites, with 3.4 million visitors a month. An avid gamer himself, he got the idea for the CPL after hearing about get-togethers where gamers linked themselves in local area networks. "I discovered their level of playing had exceeded the games' limitations," he says. "They were able to do things the programmers never envisioned." Next month, the CPL will host a four-day event in Dallas, which is expected to draw 1,500 people and dole out $100,000 in prizes, including $40,000 to the winner. Sponsors of CPL events include pro sports standbys Gateway and Nike. Can a call from ESPN be far behind?

Chris Roberts, 31
Founder and CEO
Digital Anvil, Austin
Roberts is a legend in the gaming world for creating the Wing Commander flight-simulation game series at Origin Systems, another Austin-based game company. When he left Origin to start his own company, many wondered if he could top one of the best-selling computer games ever and the first made into a movie (alas, the big-screen version of Wing Commander flopped). In his quest to fuse games and movies, Roberts recruited film director Robert Rodriguez to develop online multiplayer games and interactive movies. And he cut a deal with Microsoft; with the publishing power, marketing muscle, and deep pockets of the tech behemoth behind him, Roberts is set to release several game titles this year. But what makes gamers really salivate is the future release of Robert's new space combat simulation game, Freelancer. Last year it was previewed for game critics at the prestigious Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles and won Best of Show.

Mike Wilson, 29
CEO
Harry Miller, 32
President and Chief Operating Officer
Gathering of Developers, Dallas
Wilson and Miller are the dynamic duo behind G.O.D., a group of irreverent game designers who banded together in 1998. Their goal: to change the interactive entertainment industry by turning individual game developers into brand names and letting them map their own creative destiny. Wilson, who previously was the CEO of Dallas game developer ION Storm, and Miller, who had been the CEO of game developer Ritual Entertainment, have been getting their share of attention. In December Entertainment Weekly ranked G.O.D. among the nation's top ten e-companies and "visionaries" leading the charge into the next century—and it was the only game publisher on the list.