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| Formerly |
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|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | September 21, 1992 in Quebec City, Canada |
| Founder | Rémi Racine |
| Headquarters | , Canada |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | |
Number of employees | >1,300 [1] (2022) |
| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | bhvr.com |
Behaviour Interactive Inc. (stylized as "bEHAVIOUR", sometimes shortened to "BHVR") is a Canadian video game developer and publisher based in Montreal. The studio is best known for the multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight .
The company was founded in 1992 in Quebec City as Megatoon. [2] Two years later, the company's current CEO and executive producer, Rémi Racine, co-founded the Montreal-based Multimedia Interactive (MMI) to develop interactive entertainment software for CD-ROM. [3] Both companies were sold to Malofilm Communications in 1996, and a year later, they were merged into Behaviour Interactive with Racine as general manager. [3] In 1997, the studio released Jersey Devil on PlayStation and later Windows. The 3D platformer was the first console game made entirely in Quebec. [4] Distributed by Sony, Jersey Devil caught the eye of Infogrames Entertainment, which approached Behaviour to produce what would become Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time , released in 1999.
In 1999, Racine and some investors bought the studio back, but they had to rename it, changing the name in 2000 to Artificial Mind & Movement Inc. (A2M). [5] [3] As A2M, the studio continued its work-for-hire projects, producing titles for clients including Konami, Sony Computer Entertainment, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive Studios, Nintendo, EA and Activision. In November 2008, the company acquired Santiago-based Wanako Games from Activision Blizzard, [6] which was the first and largest South American game studio. [3] As A2M, the studio maintained its focus on producing original titles, releasing Scaler (2004), Wet (2009) and Naughty Bear (2010). This last title had more than 800,000 console-unit sales and laid the groundwork for the studio's 2016 breakthrough original game, Dead by Daylight . [7]
On November 8, 2010, Artificial Mind & Movement announced its name was returning to Behaviour Interactive. [8] The change was partly due to increased production of original titles and thus stronger presence in the gaming community, partly due to the availability of the original name, and partly due to one particular obscene interpretation of the initialism "A2M". [5]
The studio has maintained its work-for-hire services with major clients while continuing to invest in original games. In 2016, Behaviour released Dead by Daylight , a multiplayer survival action horror game published by Sweden's Starbreeze. Dead by Daylight sold more than 1 million copies in its first two months [9] [10] and by 2022 had more than 50 million players worldwide. [11] In 2018, Behaviour purchased the game's publishing rights from Starbreeze for US$16 million. [12] Thanks in large part to the game's success, Behaviour has seen its revenues grow from CAD $25 million in 2015 to CAD $225 million in 2021. [13] [14]
In April 2022, Behaviour announced the opening of a new office in Toronto. [15] In May 2022, it was announced Behaviour Interactive had acquired the Seattle-based game development studio Midwinter Entertainment. [16]
In the summer of 2022, Behaviour released Hooked on You, a dating sim spinoff from the Dead by Daylight franchise, and the melee brawler Flippin Misfits. Both games were revealed alongside Meet Your Maker at the first Behaviour Beyond showcase of new and upcoming releases broadcast in August 2022. [17]
In February 2023, it was announced that Behaviour had acquired UK-based video game developer SockMonkey Studios, [18] which is now renamed Behaviour UK - North.
In March 2023, it was announced that a film based on Dead by Daylight is in development, with Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster and Striker Entertainment co-producing. [19]
Behaviour's next major original release, Meet Your Maker, was released in April 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox One, Series X/S. The game was billed as a "post-apocalyptic first-person building-and-raiding game where every level is designed by players for players." [20]
In May 2023, Concordia University in Montreal announced the creation of a new Behaviour-funded research chair in video game design in its Department of Design and Computation Arts. Behaviour will provide $2-million in funding for the research chair over the next 10 years. [21]
In July 2023, Behaviour announced the opening of a new studio in Truro, Cornwall, called Behaviour UK - South. [22] In August 2023, Behaviour acquired Netherlands-based video game developer Codeglue, renaming it Behaviour Rotterdam. [23] In November 2023, it was announced that Dead by Daylight had surpassed the 60-million player milestone. [24]
In January 2024, Behaviour laid off 45 employees from its Montreal location, which accounted for less than 3% of its total workforce. [25]
In March 2024, Behaviour announced its acquisition of Fly Studio, an award-winning multimedia experience designer and producer from Montreal. Behaviour said the acquisition was made to consolidate its position in the location-based entertainment (LBE) market. [26] Immersive Entertainment replaced the studio's Business Solutions unit, according to its website. [27]
In April 2024, Behaviour announced it would be partnering with Scandinavian independent game developer Haenir Studio to bring their action-horror co-op survival game Blight: Survival to life. [28] The company announced it would lay off an additional 95 employees, 70 of whom are based in Montreal. [29]
Behaviour announced the closure of Midwinter on September 18, 2024, and the cancellation of their Dead by Daylight spinoff codenamed "Project T". [30]
Behaviour acquired Red Hook Studios, the developers of Darkest Dungeon and its sequel, in September 2024; Red Hook would continue as an independent studio under Behaviour. [31]
Behaviour's operations are divided into two business units – Services and Original Games. [32] Its Services unit provides work-for-hire development services to major video game and entertainment industry brands such as Disney, Sony, Activision, Warner Bros. Discovery, Ubisoft, HBO and Nintendo and also includes an Immersive Entertainment vertical that has a primary focus on location-based entertainment (LBE). Behaviour's Original Games unit produces the studio's original IP including Dead by Daylight. [33]
Behaviour Interactive made headlines as one of the first video game studios to abolish crunch time, a controversial yet widespread practice in the video game industry that requires employees to work longer hours, often unpaid, to meet project milestones. [34] [35] [36] The policy helped Behaviour earn its designation as one of Canada's Best Workplaces by gamesindustry.biz in 2018 and again in 2021 and 2022. [35] [37]
On June 21, 2018, Bethesda Softworks sued Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Behaviour Interactive over Westworld, a mobile game based on the science fiction television series Westworld , alleging that the game is a "blatant rip-off" of Fallout Shelter , another mobile game, co-developed by Behaviour.
In a suit filed in a United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Bethesda alleges that Westworld "has the same or highly similar game design, art style, animations, features and other gameplay elements" as Fallout Shelter. Bethesda sued for copyright infringement, breach of contract and misappropriating trade secrets, seeking a jury trial and damages. [41] The lawsuit also alleged that Westworld identically reproduced some software bugs that were originally present in Fallout Shelter. [42] The lawsuit was settled in January 2019 on friendly terms. [43]
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its first 15 years, it was a video game developer and self-published its titles. In 2001, Bethesda spun off its in-house development team into Bethesda Game Studios, leaving Bethesda Softworks to focus on publishing operations.
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well as investor Chris Wells. As a developer, Interplay is best known as the creator of the Fallout series and as a publisher for the Baldur's Gate and Descent series.
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Founding members of the company were Terry Donovan, Gary Foreman, Dan and Sam Houser, and Jamie King, who worked for Take-Two at the time, and of which the Houser brothers were previously executives at BMG Interactive. Sam Houser heads the studio as president.
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.
Starbreeze AB is a Swedish video game developer and publisher based in Stockholm. The studios's notable games developed include The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Payday 2 and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Founded by members of the demogroup Triton, the company was merged with O3 Games in 2001 and the parent group was renamed to Starbreeze in late 2002. The company produced titles including Enclave and Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade. In the early 2000s, cancellations of their projects due to conflicts with publishers and a failed acquisition led to a severe financial crisis, resulting in staff lay-offs during the development of Starbreeze's fourth game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. This game received critical acclaim and helped Starbreeze establish a reputation for producing high-quality games. The company worked on The Darkness, whose sales were considered satisfactory.
505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan. It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros.
Fallout Shelter is a free-to-play construction and management simulation video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, with assistance by Behaviour Interactive, and published by Bethesda Softworks. Part of the Fallout series, it was released worldwide for iOS devices in June 2015, for Android devices in August 2015, for Windows in July 2016, for Xbox One in February 2017, and for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in June 2018. The game is also available on Tesla vehicles. The game tasks the player with building and effectively managing their own Vault, a fallout shelter.
ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1999 by Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman as the parent company for Weaver's video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. The company additionally owns the development studios Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, MachineGames (Wolfenstein), and ZeniMax Online Studios. Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media for $8.1 billion in March 2021 and operates it under the Microsoft Gaming division.
Behaviour Interactive Chile Ltda. was a Chilean video game developer based in Santiago. The company was founded as Wanako Games in 2002, by Esteban Sosnik, Tiburcio de la Cárcova, Santiago Bilinkis, Wenceslao Casares. The studio was first acquired by Vivendi Games in February 2007 and ended up under Artificial Mind and Movement in December 2008. When Artificial Mind and Movement was renamed Behaviour Interactive in 2010, Wanako Games was renamed Behaviour Santiago. Behaviour Santiago was shut down on 20 November 2017.
Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studios opened in 2001 as the development unit of Bethesda Softworks, separating from publishing operations. Todd Howard serves as the studio's executive producer, leading it with managing director Ashley Cheng and studio director Angela Browder. As of November 2023, Bethesda Game Studios had 450 employees.
Wet is a 2009 third-person shooter action game, developed by Artificial Mind & Movement and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A PlayStation Portable version was planned, but ultimately cancelled.
Video gaming in the United States is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries in the country. The American video game industry is the largest video game industry in the world. According to a 2020 study released by the Entertainment Software Association, the yearly economic output of the American video game industry in 2019 was $90.3 billion, supporting over 429,000 American jobs. With an average yearly salary of about $121,000, the latter figure includes over 143,000 individuals who are directly employed by the video game business. Additionally, activities connected to the video game business generate $12.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025 the American gaming industry will reach $42.3 billion while the worldwide gaming industry will possibly reach US$270 billion. The United States is one of the nations with the largest influence in the video game industry, with video games representing a significant part of its economy.
MachineGames Sweden AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Uppsala. The studio was founded in 2009 by seven former employees of Starbreeze Studios, including founder Magnus Högdahl. After unsuccessfully pitching game ideas to several publishers, MachineGames agreed with Bethesda Softworks to develop an entry in the Wolfenstein series in July 2010 and was acquired by Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, in November. In the Wolfenstein series, MachineGames developed The New Order (2014), The Old Blood (2015), The New Colossus (2017), Youngblood (2019), and Cyberpilot (2019). The studio also developed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024) and is developing another Wolfenstein game.
WB Games Montréal Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal, Canada. It was founded as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games in 2010 and is best known for developing Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights.
Dead by Daylight is an online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror video game developed and published by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. It is a one-versus-four game in which one player takes on the role of a Killer and the other four play as Survivors; the Killer must hunt and impale each Survivor on sacrificial hooks to appease a malevolent force known as the Entity, while the Survivors have to avoid being caught and power up the exit gates by working together to fix five generators.
Rockstar Interactive India LLP is an Indian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Bangalore. The company was established in August 2016 and is led by studio director Daniel Smith. It absorbed Dhruva Interactive, India's oldest game developer, in May 2019.
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.
Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.
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