 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 1 May 2009 |
| Fate | Administration |
| Headquarters | , England |
Area served | Europe |
Key people | Ian Higgins (CEO; 1987–2008) |
Number of employees | 55 (2009) |
| Parent | Silverstar Holdings (2006–2009) |
Empire Interactive was a British video game developer and publisher based in London. Founded in 1987 by Ian Higgins and Simon Jeffrey, it was acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2006 and went out of business in 2009.
Empire Interactive was founded by Ian Higgins (chief executive officer) and Simon Jeffrey (managing director) in 1987. [1] [2] In November 2000, the company acquired development studio Razorworks. [3]
As well as full priced titles, Empire also had a budget range of titles, Xplosiv, for PC and PS2. [4] Initially launched for PC in January 2000, Xplosiv also published titles in Europe from third parties such as Sega and Microsoft. [5] [6] Later, in 2003, Empire began launching titles for PS2. [7]
In March 2002 Empire acquired music creation software eJay. [4] [8]
Silverstar Holdings, a U.S. public company listed on NASDAQ, offered a deal to acquire Empire Interactive in late October 2006. [9] The deal was accepted by 90% of Empire Interactive's shareholders by late November, and so Silverstar Holdings acquired 85% of Empire Interactive's shares. The deal was valued at approximately £4.5 million. Admissions of further Empire Interactive shares on the Alternative Investments Market of the London Stock Exchange, were expected to be cancelled, effective by 20 December. [1] [10] Higgins stepped down from his position in May 2008. [2] [11] In July, Empire Interactive reduced its staff count by 30%, with the intent to sell Razorworks. [12] Razorworks was sold to and absorbed by Rebellion Developments a few days later. [13] Two months after Silverstar Holdings was delisted from NASDAQ in March 2009, Empire Interactive was placed into administration on 1 May 2009, with KPMG Restructuring appointed as administrator. Subsequently, 49 out of 55 employees were laid off, with the remaining six staying to aiding KPMG Restructuring in the winding-down of the company. Empire Interactive's intellectual property was sold to U.S.-based company New World IP. [14] [15] Shortly thereafter, U.S. publisher Zoo Publishing acquired an exclusive licence for the publishing and distribution of Empire Interactive from New World IP. [16] [17]
Sports Interactive Limited is a British video game developer based in London, best known for the Football Manager series. Founded by brothers Oliver and Paul Collyer in July 1994, the studio was acquired by Japanese video game publisher Sega in 2006 and became part of Sega Europe. In addition to its work on Football Manager, the studio has also created a number of other sports-management simulations, including NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and is the former developer of Championship Manager.
Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its Sniper Elite series and multiple games in the Alien vs. Predator series. Sister company Rebellion Publishing has published comic books since 2000, when it purchased 2000 AD, the publisher of characters such as Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.
The Codemasters Software Company Limited is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under its EA Sports division. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in October 1986, Codemasters is one of the oldest British game studios, and in 2005 was named the best independent video game developer by magazine Develop. It formerly also published third-party games.
Strategy First Inc. is a Canadian video game publisher based in Montreal. Founded in 1988 by Don McFatridge, Steve Wall and Dave Hill, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and was subsequently acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2005. Initially specializing in developing strategy video games, it since switched to primarily publishing, releasing games like the Disciples series, the Jagged Alliance series, O.R.B: Off-World Resource Base, and the Space Empires series.
Sumo Digital Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Sheffield and the principal subsidiary of Sumo Group since 2017. The company was founded in 2003 by four former members of the management team of Infogrames Studios and, as of 2023, employs more than 1100 people in 16 studios. The developer's model has been described as work for hire.
Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The games were originally developed by Taito. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games from Taito and developed the compilation. Although they did not get official credit for it in the American versions, Sega published the North American and South American releases.
Big Mutha Truckers is an open world racing video game developed by British studio Eutechnyx and released in 2002. Set in fictional Hick County, the game revolves around completing trips between cities, delivering goods, and competing in races while at the helm of a semi truck. The game is available on GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows. It met with middling critical and commercial reception, due to repetitive gameplay, dated graphics, and lackluster sound. The game uses Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" as its theme song. The game's sequel is Big Mutha Truckers 2. A different game of the same name was developed by Italian company Raylight Studios and released for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
Atomic Planet Entertainment Ltd was a British video game developer based in Middlesbrough. It was founded in 2000 by Darren and Jason Falcus, the brothers who previously managed Acclaim Studios Teesside.
Taito Legends 2 a compilation of Taito arcade video games and the follow-up to Taito Legends. It was published for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows. As with the former collection, it is derived from the Japan exclusive Taito Memories series.
Ford Racing 3 is a racing video game published by Empire Interactive, 2K, and ZOO Digital. It is the third game in the Ford Racing series, and was released in Europe in October 2004, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In the United States, the game was released on the same platforms the following year, followed by releases later that year for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Visual Impact Productions developed the GBA and DS versions, while Razorworks developed the other versions. The game received mixed reviews, critics were divided in its soundtrack, physics and overall content and gameplay.
Ford Street Racing is a game commissioned by Ford for the Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game was sold as Ford Street Racing on the PC while the various console releases were given region specific names. They are as follows: Ford Bold Moves Street Racing in the US and Canada, Ford Street Racing: L.A. Duel in the EU, and Ford Street Racing: XR Edition in Australia and New Zealand. It was released September 19, 2006 in the United States. It was developed by Razorworks and published by Empire Interactive under the Empire banner in the US and under the Xplosiv banner in the rest of the world. The game received mostly mixed to negative reviews.
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is a 1990 video game based on a violent futuristic cyberpunk sport that draws on elements of handball and ice hockey, and rewards violent play as well as goals. The concept of the game is very reminiscent of the 1975 film Rollerball. The original game was developed by Bitmap Brothers, with various remakes for many platforms since being published. It is a sequel to the 1988 game Speedball.
Eutechnyx Limited is a British video game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Since 1997, the company has focused on racing games. They are known for their largely panned video game Ride to Hell: Retribution, work with the NASCAR The Game franchise, and as a developer on various other racing titles and games.
Ford Racing is a racing video game series consisting of seven titles released for various platforms, including the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows (PC) and Xbox. The games in the Ford Racing series center around racing modern and vintage Ford cars and trucks through specifically designed tracks, while competing against computer-driven opponents. The series began with the release of Ford Racing in 2000. The latest game, titled Ford Racing Off Road, was released in 2008; the game featured the addition of vehicles from Land Rover, which was owned by Ford at the time.
Climax Studios is a British video game developer based in Portsmouth that is best known for their work on the 2004 action role-playing game Sudeki and the 2007 and 2009 survival horror video games Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from the Silent Hill franchise.
Tantalus Media is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin. Since its inception, Tantalus has developed almost 100 games and has won multiple game awards. In March 2021, Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media for US$46.8 million.
Razorworks was a video game developer based in Kidlington, United Kingdom. Razorworks was founded in August 1996 and was owned by the video game publisher Empire Interactive. The Razorworks studio was closed in July 2008 due to Empire Interactive's poor financial situation.
Kalypso Media Group is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in 2006 in Worms, the group includes four companies, in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States and has studios, Realmforge Studios, Gaming Minds Studios, Claymore Game Studios, and Nine Worlds Studios. Kalypso is best known for publishing Tropico, Sudden Strike, Dungeons and Railway Empire series.
Maximum Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Walnut Creek, California. Originally founded in 2009 as a publisher of family-oriented titles for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, the company shifted to publishing games of all genres for all ages across all platforms shortly after inception.
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