Ed Fries is a prominent figure in the video game industry with a rich background spanning several decades. He began creating video games for the Atari 800 in the early 1980s before joining Microsoft in 1986. During his tenure at Microsoft, he played a key role in the development of Excel and Word before shifting his focus to interactive entertainment. Ed went on to establish Microsoft Game Studios, where he significantly expanded the team and published numerous successful games, contributing to Microsoft's impact in the video game market.