Julian Gollop

Julian Gollop is a British video game designer and producer specialising in strategy games. He founded Mythos Games where he created the X-COM franchise beginning with UFO: Enemy Unknown in 1994. He later founded Codo Technologies in 2001 and Snapshot Games in 2013.

Gollop designed and programed games in the 1980s on the ZX Spectrum, beginning with Time Lords in 1983. He also created the Rebelstar series.

Early life Julian Gollop was born in 1965. He came of age in Harlow, England. When he was a child, his father introduced him to many different types of games, including chess, card games, and board games. His family played games regularly, choosing to play games instead of going to see films. For £25, Gollop bought his first computer, a ZX81, from a school friend to learn programming. Gollop subsequently upgraded to a ZX Spectrum and began creating video games like Nebula in BASIC. Under the Mythos name, the Gollop brothers designed and developed computer games such as Laser Squad, UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-COM: Apocalypse. Up to this time, Gollop had only made computer games for 8-bit and 16-bit home computers commonly found in Europe.

Codo Technologies (2001 to 2006) After closing Mythos Games, Gollops founded Codo Technologies.

Ubisoft Sofia (2006 to 2012) After moving to Bulgaria, Gollop began working for Ubisoft in Sofia as a game designer. He then became the co-creative director of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for the PlayStation Vita.

Snapshot Games (since 2013) As of 2017, Gollop works in Sofia as the CEO and chief designer for Snapshot Games, an independent video game developer he co-founded in 2013 with David Kaye. Chaos Reborn, the studio's first game, was released by Snapshot Games in 2015. He then led his company's development of Phoenix Point, which was released in December 2019.

Personal life Gollop moved to Sofia, Bulgaria in 2005. His wife Raina, who he married in 2003, is Bulgarian, and his two children were born circa 2011.

Accolades IGN included him among the top hundred computer game creators of all time. Jake Solomon, creative lead for this XCOM and its sequel, XCOM 2, credits Gollop for much of his success.

Games Title Year Developer Publisher Time Lords Julian Gollop Red Shift Islandia Julian Gollop Red Shift Battlecars SLUGJulian Gollop Games Workshop Nebula Julian Gollop Red Shift Rebelstar Raiders Julian Gollop Red Shift Chaos: The Battle of Wizards Julian Gollop Games Workshop Rebelstar Julian Gollop Firebird Laser Squad Mythos Games Blade SoftwareMicroLeague Rebelstar II Julian Gollop Silverbird Software Lords of Chaos Mythos Games Blade Software UFO: Enemy Unknown Mythos Games MicroProseSpectrum HoloByte X-COM: Apocalypse Mythos Games MicroProse Magic and Mayhem Mythos Games The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge Cancelled Mythos Games Laser Squad Nemesis Codo Technologies Rebelstar: Tactical Command Codo Technologies Namco Rebelstar 2: The Meklon Conspiracy Cancelled Codo Technologies Chessmaster Live Ubisoft Sofia UbisoftFeral Interactive Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars Ubisoft Sofia Ubisoft Assassin's Creed III: Liberation Ubisoft Sofia Ubisoft Chaos Reborn 2015 Snapshot Games Snapshot Games Phoenix Point 2019 Snapshot Games Snapshot Games Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids 2025 Snapshot Games Arc Games