Double Helix Games

Double Helix Games
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Predecessors	The Collective ; Shiny Entertainment ;
Founded	October 9, 2007;15 years ago
Defunct	February 5, 2014;9 years ago
Fate	Merged into Amazon Game Studios Orange County
Successor	Amazon Games Orange County
Headquarters	Irvine, California , US
Number of employees	75 (2014)
Parent	Foundation 9 Entertainment (2007–2014); Amazon (2014);

Last updated September 23, 2023

Double Helix Games was an American video game developer based in Irvine, California, founded in October 2007 through the merger of The Collective and Shiny Entertainment, two studios owned by Foundation 9 Entertainment. Double Helix was acquired by Amazon and integrated into Amazon Game Studios in February 2014.

History

Double Helix Games was formed as the result of a merger between The Collective and Shiny Entertainment, two video game developers owned by Foundation 9 Entertainment. Shiny had been acquired by Foundation 9 in October 2006 under the terms that it would co-locate with the already owned The Collective.^[1] On October 9, 2007, it was announced that both studios had relocated to new 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) offices in Irvine, California, and were being merged, expected to not result in any job losses.^[2] The amalgam, led by Michael Persson, received the name "Double Helix Games" in March 2008.^[3]

In July 2009, as part of a round of consolidations within Foundation 9, Double Helix suffered an undisclosed number of staff cuts.^[4] On February 5, 2014, Double Helix announced that it had been acquired by retailing company Amazon. The studio was integrated into the Irvine location of the retailer's Amazon Game Studios division, which had been established in 2012.^[5]^[6] Microsoft Studios, the publisher of Double Helix's Killer Instinct , stated that it would be working with a new development partner to continue development on the game.^[5]

Games developed

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher(s)
2008	Silent Hill: Homecoming	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360	Konami Digital Entertainment
2009	G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360	Electronic Arts
2010	Front Mission Evolved	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360	Square Enix
2011	Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2012	Battleship	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360	Activision
2013	Killer Instinct (season 1)	Xbox One	Microsoft Studios
2014	Strider	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Capcom
2014	UFOs Love Cows	Android	Amazon Game Studios

Canceled

Harker (2008)^[7]

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References

↑ Dobson, Jason (October 2, 2006). "Foundation 9 Acquires Shiny From Atari". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
↑ Hatfield, Daemon (October 9, 2007). "Shiny, Collective Merged into Mega Studio". IGN . Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
↑ Androvich, Mark (March 27, 2008). "Double Helix is new Foundation 9 studio". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
↑ Graft, Kris (July 29, 2009). "Foundation 9 Confirms Staff Cuts, Merges Studios". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
1 2 Farokhmanesh, Megan (February 5, 2014). "Double Helix Games acquired by Amazon (update)". Polygon . Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
↑ Perez, Sarah; Taylor, Colleen (February 6, 2014). "Amazon Acquires Video Gaming Studio Double Helix Games". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
↑ Clements, Ryan (April 22, 2008). "Harker On Hold". IGN . Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

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[1] Dobson, Jason (October 2, 2006). "Foundation 9 Acquires Shiny From Atari". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

[2] Hatfield, Daemon (October 9, 2007). "Shiny, Collective Merged into Mega Studio". IGN . Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.

[3] Androvich, Mark (March 27, 2008). "Double Helix is new Foundation 9 studio". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

[4] Graft, Kris (July 29, 2009). "Foundation 9 Confirms Staff Cuts, Merges Studios". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

[Polygon-5] 1 2 Farokhmanesh, Megan (February 5, 2014). "Double Helix Games acquired by Amazon (update)". Polygon . Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

[6] Perez, Sarah; Taylor, Colleen (February 6, 2014). "Amazon Acquires Video Gaming Studio Double Helix Games". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.

[7] Clements, Ryan (April 22, 2008). "Harker On Hold". IGN . Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

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