Formerly |
|
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 2008 |
Headquarters | , US |
Parent |
|
Website | arcgames.com |
Arc Games (formerly known as Perfect World Entertainment and Gearbox Publishing San Francisco), is a video game publisher. Founded in 2008 as the North American branch of the Chinese company Perfect World, they currently operate their former parent company's titles outside China as well as publishing various video games.
Originally formed to localize Perfect World's games for international audiences, Perfect World Entertainment is also publishing games from sister-company developers Cryptic Studios ( Star Trek Online , Champions Online , Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter ) and Runic Games ( Torchlight series and Hob), which they had acquired in 2011. [1]
In December 2021, Perfect World Entertainment was acquired by Embracer Group and merged into The Gearbox Entertainment Company and rebranded as Gearbox Publishing San Francisco. [2] [3]
Embracer announced their plans to sell The Gearbox Entertainment Company to Take-Two Interactive in March 2024, with Gearbox Publishing San Francisco being retained by Embracer. [4] They subsequently rebranded as Arc Games in April of that year. [5] [6] [7]
Year | Name | Platforms | Developer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Torchlight | Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox 360 | Runic Games | Published by Microsoft Studios on Xbox 360 |
Champions Online | Windows | Cryptic Studios | Originally published by Atari | |
2010 | Star Trek Online | Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | ||
2011 | Rusty Hearts | Windows | Stairway Games | Discontinued |
2012 | Torchlight II | Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | Runic Games | |
Blacklight: Retribution | Windows, PlayStation 4 | Zombie Studios | Windows version is discontinued | |
2013 | Neverwinter | Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | Cryptic Studios | |
2015 | Gigantic | Windows, Xbox One | Motiga | Discontinued |
2016 | Livelock | Windows | Tuque Games | |
2017 | Hob | Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch | Runic Games | |
2019 | Remnant: From the Ashes | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | Gunfire Games | |
2020 | Torchlight III | Echtra Games | ||
2023 | Have a Nice Death | Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Magic Design Studios | |
Remnant 2 | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Gunfire Games | ||
UFO: Unidentified Falling Objects | Windows, Nintendo Switch | Andrew Morrish | ||
2024 | Gigantic: Rampage Edition | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Abstraction Games | |
Hyper Light Breaker | Windows | Heart Machine | ||
2025 | Fellowship | Windows | Chief Rebel |
3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game Kingdom of Kroz. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company popularized a distribution model where each game consists of three episodes, with the first given away free as shareware and the other two available for purchase. Duke Nukem was a major franchise created by Apogee to use this model, and Apogee published Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D the same way.
Nimble Giant Entertainment, SA is an Argentine video game developer located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The studio was acquired by Saber Interactive in 2020.
Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and was a wholly owned Perfect World subsidiary, and is now owned by Embracer Group.
Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios based on the Star Trek franchise. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Star Trek Online is the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game within the Star Trek franchise and was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2010. At launch, the game required a game purchase and a recurring monthly fee. In January 2012, it relaunched with a tier of free-to-play access available. After a public beta testing period, a version of the game was released for OS X in March 2014. Due to technical issues with the port, support for OS X ended in February 2016. It was later released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in September 2016. The game has received several expansions since release and has gotten mixed reviews from critics.
Gearbox Software, L.L.C is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, serves as president and chief executive officer. Gearbox initially created expansions for the Valve game Half-Life, then ported that game and others to console platforms. In 2005, Gearbox launched its first independent set of games, Brothers in Arms, on console and mobile devices. It became their flagship franchise and spun off a comic book series, television documentary, books, and action figures. Their second original game series, Borderlands, commenced in 2009, and by 2015 had sold over 26 million copies. The company also owns the intellectual property of Duke Nukem and Homeworld.
Saber Interactive Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin in 2001, it is controlled by Karch's investment company Beacon Interactive, created in 2024. The company employs over 1,350 people.
Asmodee is a French publisher of board games, card games and role-playing games (RPGs). Founded in 1995 to develop their own games and to publish and distribute for other smaller game developers, they have since acquired numerous other board game publishers. A division, Twin Sails Interactive, publishes video game adaptations of Asmodee games.
Randall Steward Pitchford II is an American businessman. He co-founded the video game development studio Gearbox Software in 1999 and was president and CEO for the company until 2021, upon which he became CEO and president of Gearbox's parent company, The Gearbox Entertainment Company. In 2016, Pitchford became the owner of the Academy of Magical Arts publication Genii magazine. Pitchford purchased the Hollywood Magic Castle in April 2022.
Perfect World, is a 3D adventure and fantasy MMORPG with traditional Chinese settings. Players can take on various roles depending on choice of race and choice of class within that race.
Perfect World Co., Ltd. is a Chinese mass media company based in Beijing. It was founded in 2004 by Chi Yufeng. The company consists of two business segments: Perfect World Games, a video game publisher, and Perfect World Pictures, a film production company.
Runic Games was an American computer game developer based in Seattle. It was formed by former Flagship Studios developers in August 2008. In 2009, the company released Torchlight, a single-player action role-playing game. It was acquired by Perfect World in May 2010. They released a sequel, Torchlight II, in 2012. It was at this time the developers revealed they were no longer pursuing plans to create an MMO in the Torchlight universe.
Duke Nukem is a media franchise named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various consoles by third-party developers. The first two games in the main series were 2D platformers, while the later games have been a mix of first-person and third-person shooters.
Torchlight II is an action role-playing dungeon crawler video game developed by Runic Games, released for Microsoft Windows on September 20, 2012. It is the sequel to Torchlight, and features peer-to-peer multiplayer support and extended modding capabilities. The game was released for OS X on February 2, 2015, and for Linux on March 4, 2015. Ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released September 3, 2019 and were developed by Panic Button.
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.
Slipgate Ironworks ApS is a Danish video game developer based in Aalborg, founded in 2010 by Frederik Schreiber.
Torchlight III is an action role-playing game and the third game in the Torchlight series. It is developed by American studio Echtra Games and published by Perfect World Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in October 2020.
Embracer Group AB is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company comprises 9 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain, Dark Horse Media, Deca Games, Freemode, Plaion, and THQ Nordic.