Black Rock Studio
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) |
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Formerly |
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Company type | Division of Disney Interactive Studios |
Industry | Video game industry |
Founded | 1998 |
Founder | Tony Beckwith |
Defunct | 2011[1] |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Video games |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
Number of employees | 300 |
Parent | Climax Group (1997-2006) Disney Interactive Studios (2006-2011) |
Website | Official website |
Black Rock Studios Limited was a video game developer based in Brighton, England. It is currently a division of Disney Interactive Studios. The studio was founded by Tony Beckwith in 1998 as Pixel Planet. It was then acquired by the Climax Group in 1999 and was renamed Climax Brighton. In 2004, it became Climax Racing, as the Climax Group rebranded its studios.[2] On 28 September 2006, it was acquired by DIS (formerly known as Buena Vista Games in that time) and was eventually renamed Black Rock Studio in 2007.[3] The last game the studio developed for the Climax Group was MotoGP '07, which was completed after its acquisition by Buena Vista Games. The name is derived from a district in Brighton.[4] In early 2011, the company faced lay-offs and was forced to abandon sequels for Pure and Split/Second. Despite good reviews for both games, Disney Interactive Studios turned down both sequels to focus on freemium content.[5]
On 30 June 2011, Disney Interactive Studios announced their intent to enter a consultation process on the proposal to close the studios. It was later confirmed that the studio has been shut down and that several 300 ex-employees have formed new studios, including Studio Gobo, Roundcube Entertainment, ShortRound Games, Boss Alien, and Hangar 13 Brighton.[6]
Games
Developed as "Climax Brighton"
Name | Platform(s) | Release date(s) |
---|---|---|
ATV Quad Power Racing | PlayStation, Game Boy Advance | 2000 |
Gumball 3000 | PlayStation 2 | 2002 |
MotoGP | Windows, Xbox | 2002 |
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox | 2002 |
ATV Quad Power Racing 2 | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox | 2003 |
MotoGP 2 | Windows, Xbox | 2003 |
The Italian Job | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox | 2003 |
Hot Wheels: World Race | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, Game Boy Advance | 2003 |
Developed as "Climax Racing"
Name | Platform(s) | Release date(s) |
---|---|---|
ATV Offroad Fury 3 | PlayStation 2 | 2004 |
Crash 'n' Burn | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | 2004 |
Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge | Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows, Game Boy Advance | 2004 |
ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails | PlayStation Portable | 2005 |
MotoGP 3: Ultimate Racing Technology | Windows, Xbox | 2005 |
MotoGP '06 | Xbox 360 | 2006 |
ATV Offroad Fury Pro | PlayStation Portable | 2006 |
ATV Offroad Fury 4 | PlayStation 2 | 2006 |
MotoGP '07 | Windows, Xbox 360 | 2007 |
Developed as "Black Rock Studio"
Name | Platform(s) | Release date(s) |
---|---|---|
Pure | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 | 2008 |
Split/Second | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 | 2010 |
External links
References
- ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-07-01-split-second-dev-black-rock-to-close
- ^ http://www.mobygames.com/company/black-rock-studio
- ^ Michael French (2007-07-06). "Studio unveils new identity". MCV. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ French, Michael (2007-07-06). "Climax Racing Studio unveils new identity". MCV. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ Lay-offs at Split/Second Studio - Eurogamer
- ^ Robert Purchese (2011-07-01). "Split/Second dev Black Rock to close". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2011-07-01.