#3 Vince Zampella

As great as Uncharted 2 is, it was Infinity Ward and Modern Warfare 2 that really grabbed the spotlight in 2009, especially from a business perspective. (Of course, it helps when you have an insane launch budget of $200 million.) The game broke not only video game launch records, but set a new record for an entertainment launch, grossing $550 million in just five days. We'd like to recognize Infinity Ward studio head Vince Zampella for leading his team to put together such a highly polished blockbuster title that put video games on the global entertainment map in a way that only GTA IV had previously. Infinity Ward continues to pump out incredible experiences and then they support their products with excellent DLC as well. When you can make EA CEO John Riccitiello envious of your product, you know you're doing something right.

We also give credit to Zampella and his team for having the cajones to include the now infamous airport terrorist scene. Even EA Montreal’s Matt Turner, currently producer and writer for Army of Two: 40th Day, applauded Infinity Ward for having the guts to push the video game medium with that scene.