John Tobias

Who is John Tobias?

John Tobias is an American comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer. Along with Ed Boon he is one of the creators of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

Tobias was an artist for The Real Ghostbusters comic book series before joining Midway Games. He worked on the original arcade version of Smash TV prior to the success of Mortal Kombat in 1992. Tobias developed the early Mortal Kombat series' storyline and designed its classic characters, including Baraka, Cyrax, Goro, Jade, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Mileena, Nightwolf, Noob Saibot, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Sheeva, Sindel, Smoke, Sonya Blade, Stryker and Sub-Zero.

By the end of the 1990s, however, the MK series hit a low ebb. Tobias, along with other prominent Midway staff members, including Dave Michicich and Josh Tsui, left Midway in 2000 and formed Studio Gigante later that year. Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2003, was the first game Studio Gigante created, followed by WWE WrestleMania 21. Studio Gigante ceased operations in 2005 and Tobias now works as a consultant in the games industry.