Disabled Combat Veteran Matthew Whiteman Inspires Other Veterans Through His Business

A lot of disabled combat veterans who are medically retired due to their condition struggle with their attempts at entrepreneurship when they finally go back home. The need to adjust to a new work environment and compete with other product or service providers are elements that contribute to the challenges they encounter. Disabled combat veteran Matthew Whiteman knows fully well what veterans like him go through every day. Despite the difficulty, however, he pursued his plans and established MW Entertainment LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).

Established in 2022, MW Entertainment is a company that specializes in producing episodic television series scripts, feature film scripts, and interactive movie video game concepts or designs. Prior to its creation, its owner Matthew was already doing screenwriting. He finished his MBA by doing night school at Central Michigan University. After he medically retired from the US Army in November 2014, he attempted a career in professional screenwriting for episodic television and feature films between 2015 and 2019. 

At that time, he also attended 18 months of film school at Palomar College in San Diego. “I have written a 22-episodic TV series about professional baseball, one short film, and two feature films. My TV series, San Diego Glory, drew attention from Unity Motion Pictures out of Vancouver, BC, from 2015 to 2016, but failed to reach a pre-production contract,” Matthew shared. 

The pandemic was a turning point for Matthew when he decided to develop his company despite the growing threat and the precarious state of the economy. He decided, however, to focus more on mobile video gaming entertainment. In March 2022, Matthew and his team already started planning for four movie video games, Knuckle Mania being one of them. The project is a hybrid baseball game. 

“We wish to develop the highest quality, highly enjoyable mobile games and film/television screenwriting through continuous research and end-user development. If you want to play it or see it, we’ll make it. We wish to take advantage of any and all perks that come with being a SDVOSB. We hope to be an inspiration to other disabled veterans who are struggling to become entrepreneurs,” he said. 

Matthew wants to bring back the fun in baseball video gaming by creating a hybrid version that removes the cognitive load and focuses instead on the enjoyment players will experience. He envisions the game to be instantly playable and even re-playable. 

At present, the mobile baseball game is still in its Beta Test stage, but Matthew hopes to be able to maximize financial returns at this phase. His team targets one million downloads in its first 24 months after it is formally launched on the Google and Apple markets. Additionally, the team intends to launch an international marketing campaign in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, as they have a massive customer base that thrives on video games. 

“We wish to be recognized as a force in casual/hyper-casual mobile game design, development, and in the creation of film screenwriting content for the entertainment industry,” Matthew added.

With the focus now more on video gaming, Matthew Whiteman believes he is on the right track with the rising anticipation of the industry’s peak in the next five years. By then, he hopes to be able to launch all four games. By pursuing these projects, Matthew hopes to inspire other veterans like him not to be afraid to take risks even if the circumstances seem bleak. His example allows his fellow veterans to draw strength and insights from his hard work.