He founded the Digital Playground company[5] in1993 when he was 25 and still a student,[1] initially making adultCD-ROMcomputer games.[6]
Commenting on the transition of the pornography industry from the underground economy to mainstream corporate acceptance, the company's founder said: "I look at the porn business whereVegas and gambling was in the 70's… Vegas was still mob-owned and they were making the transition between these small groups of people to being corporate owned… I feel the same exact thing is going to happen with adult".[7]
In January 2012, alongside his ex-wife Samantha Lewis—who was co-owner, CEO and President ofDigital Playground—he reached an agreement withFabian Thylmann to sell the company toManwin. On the acquisition, Joone commented: "To me this deal is no different than the acquisition ofPixar byDisney, The consumer is going to see more blockbusters, big-budget productions, and it's our goal to create the next genre of adult entertainment. This acquisition is a marriage between two industry leaders. Adult entertainment is changing andManwin has a lead on technology." The price or terms of the deal was not disclosed, but it was announced that Lewis and Joone will "continue to oversee the studio";[8] however, it was reported in March that Manwin had released Lewis and some other employees.[9]
