Max Lagno was born in the city of Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, where he graduated from the local art college as easel painter.

Max has been writing for as long as he could remember but he never showed his work to anyone until the age of 30 nor did he upload his stories to the Internet. His first two novels were regular mainstream fiction. It took Max some time to reinvent himself and his art in order to return to his roots: action-packed science fiction adventure.

His first experience with computer games dates back to his childhood in the 1980s. Karateka, Street Fighter and other such titles have shaped his first LitRPG novel, Level Up: The Knockout. He knows the world of 8-bit games like the palm of his hand, having developed a strong dislike for the old-school 2-bit games in favor of shooters or open-world games.