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HB Studios

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HB Studios
Company typeGame Developer
IndustryInteractive entertainment
Founded2000
Headquarters,
Canada
Key people
Alan Bunker, CEO, Craig Heffler, CFO
Productssee below
Number of employees
80+
Websitewww.hb-studios.com

HB Studios is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2000 and located in Nova Scotia, Canada. They are best known for their rugby and cricket games, released on the EA Sports label.

History

HB Studios was founded in 2000 by Jeremy Wellard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The company started with nine employees, and developed Cricket 2002 for Electronic Arts' Asia Pacific studio.[1]

In 2004, HB Studios entered a multi-project deal with EA Canada to continue developing sports games for the EA Sports label, including further games in the Rugby and Cricket series, FIFA Street 2 for the PlayStation Portable as well as co-development on Madden 07 for the Wii. This exclusivity deal ended in 2007,[2] after which the company was hired by THQ to create Big Beach Sports for the Wii. This was HB Studios' first non-sports simulation game as well as the first game not developed for the EA Sports label.

In 2008, HB Studios opened a second studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as now operating with 130 employees.[3] The Halifax studio was closed at the end of July 2012 with all development moved to their headquarters in Lunenberg. The last games developed by the satellite studio were NBA Baller Beats for Kinect and Medal Bound on iOS.[4]

A second label, HB Arcade, was formed in 2009, with the goal of self-publishing downloadable titles on WiiWare, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. Games released under this label included HB Arcade Cards and HB Arcade Disc Golf, both for the WiiWare platform, as well as Jam Space for DSiWare.[5]

In 2011, HB Studios developed Rugby World Cup 2011, a self-funded title published by 505 Games.[6] It was well-received, and entered the UK charts at No.3.[7]

In January 2014, it was announced that HB's The Golf Club for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC would be launching in the Spring of 2014.[8] The game is a golf simulator that includes a Course Creator using procedural generation, allowing users to create, edit and share courses online. The game went to Steam Early Access in April 2014 and was fully released in August 2014.

In February 2015, HB Studios' founder, Jeremy Wellard, announced he was stepping down as President of the company with COO Alan Bunker announced as his replacement.[9]

In March 2016, HB Studios and Maximum Games announced a joint venture to release Infinite Air featuring Mark McMorris, an open-world, physics-based snowboarding video game that was built in partnership and close collaboration with multiple X-Games winner Mark McMorris. Infinite Air will include vast, customizable mountain ranges as well as a highly reactive, fluid control system. HB and Maximum have promised it to be the most authentic snowboarding game to date. It will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in the fall of 2016.[10]

Games Developed

List of games developed by HB Studios
Year Title Publisher Platform
2001 Cricket 2002 EA Sports PS2, PC
2003 Cricket 2004 PS2, PC
Rugby 2004 PS2, PC
2005 Rugby 2005 Xbox, PS2, PC
Cricket 2005 Xbox, PS2, PC
2006 FIFA Street 2 PSP
Rugby 2006 Xbox, PS2, PC
Madden NFL 07 Wii
2007 Cricket 07 PS2, PC
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 PS2, PSP, PC
NBA Live 08 PS2, PC
Rugby 08 PS2, PC
NHL 08 PS2, PC
2008 Big Beach Sports THQ Wii
NBA Live 09 EA Sports PS2, PSP, Wii
NHL 09 PS2, PC
2009 Rock Revolution Konami Wii, DS
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 EA Sports PSP, PS2
Football Academy Nintendo DS
HB Arcade Cards HB Arcade WiiWare
FIFA 10 EA Sports PC, PS2, PSP
NBA Live 10 PSP
2010 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Wii, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3
FIFA 11 Ultimate Team Xbox 360, PS3
Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers GT Interactive Wii, Xbox 360, PC
FIFA 11 EA Sports PSP, PS2
HB Arcade Disc Golf HB Arcade WiiWare
Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush GT Interactive Wii, 360, PC
HB Arcade Jam Space HB Arcade DSiWare
2011 Rugby World Cup 2011 505 Games PS3, Xbox 360
Madden NFL 12 EA Sports Wii, PSP, PS2
HB Rugby: Fixture Challenge HB Studios iOS
2012 FIFA 12 EA Sports Wii
Medal Bound HB Studios iOS
NBA Baller Beats Majesco Entertainment Kinect
Madden NFL 13 Vita, Wii
Maze Adventures HB Studios iPad
Ace Geographer: Canada iPad
2013 MLB.com Home Run Derby MLB.com iOS, Android
MLB.com Franchise MVP iOS, Android
2014 MLB.com Home Run Derby 2014 iOS, Android
The Golf Club HB Studios PS4, PC, Xbox One
Rugby 15 PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita
2015 Rugby World Cup 2015 PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita
2016 Mark McMorris Infinite Air Maximum Games PS4, Xbox One, PC

Games Contributed To

References

  1. ^ "ACOA Website - News - News Releases". Mediaroom.acoa-apeca.gc.ca. 2007-03-23. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "ITNovaScotia.com - Where IT's at in Nova Scotia > News - East Coast video games firm expands beyond exclusive ties with industry giant". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  3. ^ "About HB Studios". Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  4. ^ "'NBA Baller Beats' developer closing Halifax studio".
  5. ^ "HB Studios". HB Arcade. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  6. ^ "Official Rugby World Cup 2011".
  7. ^ "GFK Chart-Track". Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  8. ^ "The Golf Club Announced by HB Studios".
  9. ^ "HB Studios announces CEO's retirement".
  10. ^ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160307005431/en/HB-Studios-Maximum-Games-Carve-Tracks-Infinite