NetherRealm Studios
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video game industry |
Predecessor | WB Games Chicago |
Founded | April 20, 2010 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Ed Boon (creative director) |
Products |
|
Parent | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
Website | www |
NetherRealm Studios is an American video game developer based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in May 2010 to replace Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's WB Games Chicago subsidiary. Led by video game industry veteran and Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon, the studio is in charge of developing the Mortal Kombat and Injustice series of fighting games.[1]
History
On February 12, 2009, Midway Games, developer, publisher and owner of the Mortal Kombat intellectual property, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.[2][3] Warner Bros. subsequently acquired "substantially all of the assets", including Mortal Kombat, This Is Vegas and the Midway Games company structure, on July 10, 2009.[4][5] While Warner Bros. went on to close most of Midway Games' Chicago, Illinois headquarters and San Diego, California and Liverpool, England development studios, they retained the Midway Games Chicago development studio, which became part of Warner Bros.' Interactive Entertainment division.[6][7] The surviving studio was renamed WB Games Chicago a few days later.[8][9] On April 20, 2010, the studio was reincorporated as NetherRealm Studios, effectively replacing WB Games Chicago.[10][11]
NetherRealm Studios' first game, the ninth installment and reboot of the Mortal Kombat series, was released in April 2011. Their first game in an original intellectual property, Injustice: Gods Among Us, based on the DC Universe, was released in 2013.[12][13] The success of the two games allowed the development of respective sequels; Mortal Kombat X in 2015 and Injustice 2 in 2017.[14][15] Meanwhile, NetherRealm Studios has also developed the Android and iOS versions of Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, Batman: Arkham Origins and WWE Immortals.
Games developed
Year | Title | Platform(s) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Win | X360 | XOne | Android | iOS | ||
2011 | Mortal Kombat | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Batman: Arkham City Lockdown | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
2013 | Injustice: Gods Among Us | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Batman: Arkham Origins | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Mortal Kombat X | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
WWE Immortals | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
2017 | Injustice 2 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
References
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (August 24, 2010). "What's Next For Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios". Kotaku. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Lee, James (February 12, 2009). "Midway US files for reorganisation in Bankruptcy Court". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Crecente, Brian (February 12, 2009). "Midway Files for Bankruptcy". Kotaku. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (July 10, 2009). "Warner Bros. Now Owns Midway, Mortal Kombat". Kotaku. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (July 14, 2009). "Midway Newcastle shuttered, Chicago layoffs 'imminent'". GameSpot. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (July 16, 2009). "Midway's Chicago HQ closing, final buyout price $49 million". GameSpot. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Gilbert, Ben (July 17, 2009). "Midway execs get the boot, entire Chicago dev team acquired by WB". Engadget. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Gilbert, Ben (July 27, 2009). "Mortal Kombat team sheds Midway skin for 'WB Games Chicago'". Engadget. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Martin, Matt (July 28, 2009). "Mortal Kombat studio becomes WB Games Chicago". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Nunneley, Stephany (April 9, 2010). "Warner trademarks Netherrealm Studios". VG247. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ O'Connor, Alice (June 10, 2010). "Mortal Kombat Returning to '2D' Roots". Shacknews. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Kubba, Sinan (January 15, 2013). "Injustice: Gods Among Us hits April 16, Battle Edition revealed". Engadget. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (January 15, 2013). "Injustice: Gods Among Us release date 19th April". eurogamer.net. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Plagge, Kallie (January 9, 2017). "Injustice 2 Release Date Revealed [UPDATE]". GameSpot. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Fahey, Mike (February 14, 2017). "Injustice 2 Doubles Up On Cats". Kotaku. Retrieved December 20, 2017.