Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video games |
Founded | September 27, 1996 |
Founder |
|
Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
|
Products | List of games ported by Aspyr |
Parent |
|
Subsidiaries | Beamdog |
Website | aspyr |
Aspyr Media, Inc. (pronounced "aspire") is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, [1] the company, since 2005, has become a publisher and developer of entertainment for multiple gaming platforms. [2]
Aspyr was acquired by Embracer Group in February 2021 and placed within Saber Interactive until its divestment in March 2024, after which it remains a subsidiary of Embracer. [3] [4]
In 1996, Aspyr Media, Inc., was established by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch [5] in Austin, Texas. Staloch, who had a background in sales and marketing and Rogers, who worked with TechWorks, noticed that there was a lack of gaming titles available to Mac owners and set out to change it. [1] According to Rogers, when naming the company, they “wanted something meaning ‘to aspire and be great’” and also “memorable and unique.” Aspyr made its name specializing in porting video games from Microsoft Windows to macOS. [6]
By 2003, they owned 60 percent of the Mac entertainment market. [7] In 2005, Aspyr partnered with Alex Seropian of Wideload Games and released their first originally-published AAA game, Stubbs The Zombie , to Mac OS, Windows and Xbox. [8] In 2015, Aspyr Media expanded their platform catalog again by releasing an iOS port of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [9] and later, Bioware's classic-action RPG, Jade Empire - a title they extended to Android as well. [10] In 2015, Aspyr updated Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords [11] (native widescreen resolutions up to 5K, Steam Workshop, support for controllers, 57 [12] achievements, etc.) and also ported it to macOS and Linux. In 2015, Aspyr developed and published Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered , a remaster of the 2005 game developed by Quantic Dream, to a worldwide audience with enhanced game features, updated visuals and controls, as well as content that was censored in the original North American release. [13]
Aspyr has published over 190 games and have added 90 plus members to their team since 1996. [2] In February 2021, Aspyr was acquired by Embracer Group. The company was added as a studio under the Saber Interactive label within Embracer. [14] In September 2021, it was announced that Aspyr was developing a remake of Knights of the Old Republic for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 5 as a timed exclusive. [15] [16] [17] In August 2022, Embracer announced that Aspyr is no longer working on the game and development has been moved to another studio. [18]
Aspyr published MythForce , the first game designed by Canadian studio Beamdog. [19] The day after they announced this, on April 13, 2022, Embracer Group acquired Beamdog and placed it as a subsidiary of Aspyr. [20]
In 2024, Aspyr developed and published—alongside sister company Crystal Dynamics—a remastered collection of the original three Tomb Raider games developed by Core Design, titled Tomb Raider I–III Remastered . [21] It was released on February 14, on Valentine's Day, to coincide with main protagonist Lara Croft's canonical birthday. The same year, Aspyr released ports of the first two original Star Wars: Battlefront games under Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection on March 14, 2024. [22]
In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, alongside several other studios. Aspyr was not included in the deal and remains under Embracer. [23]
Currently, Aspyr's catalog includes popular games such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI , developed in 2018 on Mac, Linux, iOS and Nintendo Switch, [24] Torn , [25] the re-releases of several Lucasfilm Games (LucasArts) titles, [26] [22] and Tomb Raider I–III Remastered . [21]
Lucasfilm Games is an American video game licensor and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a larger 1990 reorganization of the Lucasfilm divisions, the video game development division was grouped and rebranded as part of LucasArts. LucasArts became known for its line of adventure games based on its SCUMM engine in the 1990s, including Maniac Mansion, the Monkey Island series, and several Indiana Jones titles. A number of influential game developers were alumni of LucasArts from this period, including Brian Moriarty, Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert, and Dave Grossman. Later, as Lucasfilm regained control over its licensing over the Star Wars franchise, LucasArts produced numerous action-based Star Wars titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while dropping adventure game development due to waning interest in the genre.
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a 2002 first- and third-person shooter video game. The Microsoft Windows was developed by Raven Software, the Mac OS X version by Westlake Interactive, and the Xbox and GameCube versions by Vicarious Visions; most versions were published by LucasArts, with only the Mac version published by Aspyr. The game is a sequel to 1997's Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, and the third main installment in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The single-player campaign, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe two years after the Mysteries of the Sith expansion for Dark Forces II, follows returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the New Republic and former Jedi who cut his connection to the Force. Katarn must return to his Jedi ways to stop a branch of the Imperial Remnant led by the Dark Jedi Desann from empowering their army with the Force.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to 1995's Star Wars: Dark Forces, and the second installment in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The story, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe one year after the film Return of the Jedi, follows returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the New Republic, who discovers his connection to the Force and "The Valley of the Jedi", an ancient source of power. With his father having been murdered years prior by the Dark Jedi Jerec and his followers over the Valley's location, Katarn embarks on a quest to confront his father's killers and find the Valley before they do.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a first- and third-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Xbox in 2003. Vicarious Visions was responsible for the development of the Xbox version. The game is a sequel to 2002's Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and the fourth and final installment in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The single-player story, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe two years after Jedi Outcast, follows Jaden Korr, a new student at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy under the tutelage of the previous games' protagonist, Kyle Katarn. As Jaden, players are tasked with investigating a Dark Jedi cult called the Disciples of Ragnos, while slowly learning the ways of the Force and committing themselves to either the light side or the dark side.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. The first installment of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, it was released for the Xbox on July 16, 2003, and for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003. It was ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr, and it is playable on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S via backward compatibility. A Nintendo Switch version was released on November 11, 2021.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was released for the Xbox on December 6, 2004, for Microsoft Windows on February 8, 2005, for OS X and Linux on July 21, 2015, for Android and iOS on December 18, 2020 and for Nintendo Switch on June 8, 2022. Like its predecessor, it is set in the Star Wars universe 4,000 years before the events of the film Episode I: The Phantom Menace and is based on the d20 System developed by Wizards of the Coast.
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy video game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by LucasArts. It was released in November 2001. An expansion pack, Clone Campaigns, was released on May 14, 2002, adding two new factions and campaigns. Later that year, both Galactic Battlegrounds and Clone Campaigns were released in a box set, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga.
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, Saber was acquired by Embracer Group in February 2020. The company employs over 1,350 people. In March 2024, Embracer Group sold Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, an entity controlled by Karch.
Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is an action video game based on the movie of the same name. It was released on May 5, 2005, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Symbian OS. For the Xbox 360's backwards compatible lineup, Revenge of the Sith is one out of the 400+ backwards compatible games for the 360. As part of the PlayStation 2 classics program, the PlayStation 2 version was re-released in Europe on the PlayStation Network on February 11, 2015, and in North America on April 28, 2015. Meanwhile, the Xbox version was also added to the backwards compatibility list for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2021.
The video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004) features a large cast of characters noted for its diversity and is the subject of significant discussion from gaming magazines and websites.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to the macOS and Microsoft Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released on Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is a media franchise of space western role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the original Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, IOS and Android. The franchise takes place in the fictional universe of Star Wars by George Lucas.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight is a series of first- and third-person shooter video games set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe. The series focuses primarily on Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial officer who becomes a mercenary working for the Rebel Alliance, and later a Jedi and instructor at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. While the first game is set a year after the events of A New Hope, the sequels take place in the decade following Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith is an expansion pack for the 1997 first-person shooter Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows in 1998. It was re-released on Steam in September 2009. The expansion includes a new single-player story mode and fifteen multiplayer maps. The single-player story, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe five years after the events of Dark Forces II, follows both returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a Jedi Master and mercenary working for the New Republic, and Mara Jade, a character featured in numerous Star Wars expanded universe works, who is being trained by Katarn in the Jedi arts. After Katarn goes missing while investigating an ancient Sith temple, Jade continues her studies on her own while undertaking missions from the New Republic, eventually leaving to find Katarn.
IdeaSpark Labs Inc. is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2009 by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster and former BioWare lead programmer Cameron Tofer. Beamdog's distribution service was launched in July 2010.
Embracer Group AB is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company comprises 11 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain, Dark Horse Media, Deca Games, Easybrain, Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, and THQ Nordic.
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered is a 2024 action-adventure video game developed and published by Aspyr. It is a remastered compilation of the first three games in the Tomb Raider series originally developed by Core Design: Tomb Raider (1996), Tomb Raider II (1997), and Tomb Raider III (1998). Remastered was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 14 February 2024. The game received generally mixed reviews from critics.