Black Isle Studios
 |
|
| Industry | Computer and video games |
|---|---|
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Orange County, California, USA |
| Key people | Feargus Urquhart: founder, division director |
| Products | Video Games |
| Parent | Interplay Entertainment |
| Website | www.blackisle.com (archived version 2003-08-01) |
Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment. Black Isle Studios was a division that developed role-playing video games, and also published several games from other developers. It was based in Orange County, California, USA.[1] The division was formed during 1996, adopting the name "Black Isle Studios" during 1998.[2] The idea for the division's name came from the Black Isle in Scotland - founder Feargus Urquhart's native country.[3] Black Isle Studios is most famous for working on Planescape: Torment, though they also achieved success with the Fallout, Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate series of role-playing video games, though it merely published the Baldur's Gate series.
Contents |
[edit] Products
[edit] Developed
- Fallout 2 (1998)
- Planescape: Torment (1999)
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter - Trials of the Luremaster (2001)
- Icewind Dale II (2002)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (2004)
[edit] Published
- Baldur's Gate (1998)
- Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)
- Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)
- Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
- Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003)
[edit] Compilations
Two compilations bearing their name were also released:
- Black Isle Compilation (2002)
- Black Isle Compilation Part Two (2004)
[edit] Canceled
Canceled projects include:
- Stonekeep 2: Godmaker (2001)
- Torn (2001)
- Fallout 3 (Van Buren) (2003)
- Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound (2003)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance III (2004)
[edit] Closure
In 1998, several key members responsible for Fallout, left Interplay to form Troika Games after they "were unable to come to an agreement with Interplay as to how [their] next team should be structured".[4] On December 8, 2003, in the midst of serious financial difficulties, Interplay laid off the entire Black Isle Studios staff.[5] By then, most members had moved on to found a new company called Obsidian Entertainment (2003–present).
[edit] References
- ^ "Black Isle Studios". IGN. http://games.ign.com/objects/027/027142.html. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ^ Cheong, Ian. "Game Info". Lionheart Chronicles. GameSpy. http://www.rpgplanet.com/lionheart/info-faq.shtml. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ^ Keefer, John (January 2001). "Black Isle Studios: We are not BioWare". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2004-12-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20041211123425/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/january01/blackisle/. Retrieved 2006-06-25.
- ^ Blancato, Joe. "The Rise and Fall of Troika". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_77/440-The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Troika. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (2003-12-08). "Interplay shuts down Black Isle Studios". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news_6085243.html. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
[edit] External links
- GameSpot: "Interplay shuts down Black Isle Studios" (8 December 2003)
- Black Isle Studios profile on MobyGames
|
||||||||||||||||||||
