Foundation 9 Entertainment

Last updated

Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc.
Company type Private
Industry Video games
FoundedMarch 29, 2005;18 years ago (2005-03-29) in Los Angeles, US
Founders
  • Jon Goldman
  • Andrew Ayre
  • Douglas Hare
  • Gary Priest
  • Mark Loughridge
  • Richard Hare
  • Jeff Vavasour
  • Steven Sardegna
  • Larry Kelly
Defunct2015 (2015)
Fate Dissolved
Headquarters
Irvine, California
,
US
Key people
  • Jon Goldman (CEO; 2005–2008)
  • James North-Hearn (CEO; 2008–2015)
Number of employees
750+ [1]  (2007)
Website F9E.com (archived version)

Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game company based in Irvine, California. The company was formed in March 2005 through the merger of video game developers Backbone Entertainment and The Collective.

Contents

History

Foundation 9 Entertainment was founded on March 29, 2005, in Los Angeles, through the merger of video game developer Backbone Entertainment and The Collective. [2] The company's initial management board consisted of Jon Goldman (chief executive officer), Andrew Ayre and Douglas Hare (co-presidents), Gary Priest and Mark Loughridge (co-chairmen), Richard Hare (chief creative officer), Jeff Vavasour (vice-president of Canadian operations), Steven Sardegna (chief financial officer), and Larry Kelly (chief operating officer). [3] Shortly after the merger, on April 12, Foundation 9 acquired and integrated Pipeworks Software. [4] Subsequently, Dan Duncalf, the company's president and co-founder, joined Foundation 9's board of directors. [5] In May, Foundation 9 acquired an equity stake in Circle of Confusion, a Hollywood management company, to establish a strategic partnership. [6]

On June 1, 2006, investment firm Francisco Partners (as advised by UBS Securities) agreed to provide US$150 million in funding to Foundation 9 over a time frame of several years, with additional funding to be provided when needed. [7] The investment was followed by the acquisitions of Shiny Entertainment from Atari in October 2006, [8] Amaze Entertainment and related studios in November 2006, [9] and Sumo Digital and its Indian sub-studio in August 2007. [10] Under the terms of Shiny's acquisition, the studio would co-locate and merge with The Collective. [8] The merger was formally announced in October 2007, at which point both studios had moved to new 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) offices in Irvine, California. [11] The amalgam was named Double Helix Games in March 2008. [12] In January 2008, Foundation 9 promoted David Mann (previously chief operating officer), Chris Charla and Jack Brummet to president, vice-president of business development, and vice-president of quality assurance, respectively, [13] followed by James North-Hearn, one of Sumo Digital's founders, becoming the chief executive officer of the company in March. [14]

In July 2008, Foundation 9 reinstated Griptonite Games and Fizz Factor, two studios absorbed into Amaze in 2005, under their original brandings. [15] However, in July 2009, Fizz Factor was closed down entirely, while Amaze was merged into Griptonite and Double Helix suffered staff cuts. [16] FXLabs, based in Hyderabad, India, was acquired by Foundation 9 in October 2010 and became part of Griptonite under the name Griptonite India. [17] Griptonite was sold to Glu Mobile in August 2011 in exchange for 6 million shares of Glu's common stock. [18] Backbone's location in Vancouver had been closed in May 2009, and in October 2012, its ImaginEngine studio was closed as well, while its primary location in Emeryville, California, laid off the majority of its staff. [19] [20] [21] In February 2014, Double Helix was sold to Amazon. [22] Later that year, under advisory from GP Bullhound, Foundation 9 sold Pipeworks to Italian publisher Digital Bros, and Sumo Digital to its own management, the latter of which was backed by NorthEdge Capital. [23] [24] [25] In 2015, Foundation 9's board of directors elected to dissolve the company.[ citation needed ]

Subsidiaries

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic Arts</span> American video game company

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the designers and programmers responsible for its games as "software artists". EA published numerous games and some productivity software for personal computers, all of which were developed by external individuals or groups until 1987's Skate or Die! The company shifted toward internal game studios, often through acquisitions, such as Distinctive Software becoming EA Canada in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebellion Developments</span> Video game company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiny Entertainment</span> American video game developer

Shiny Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Laguna Beach, California. Founded in October 1993 by David Perry, Shiny was the creator of video games such as Earthworm Jim, MDK and Enter the Matrix. Perry sold the company to Interplay Productions in 1995, which sold the studio to Infogrames, Inc. in 2002. After Foundation 9 Entertainment acquired Shiny in 2006, the company was merged with The Collective in October 2007, creating Double Helix Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Collective (company)</span> Defunct American video game developer

The Collective, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Newport Beach, California. Founded in 1997 by ex-Virgin Entertainment employees, the company merged with Backbone Entertainment in 2005 to create Foundation 9 Entertainment. Under Foundation 9, The Collective was merged with Shiny Entertainment and into Double Helix Games in October 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EA Mobile</span> American video game developer

EA Mobile Inc. is an American video game development studio of the publisher Electronic Arts (EA) for mobile platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumo Digital</span> British video game developer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2K (company)</span> American video game publisher

2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several development studios owned by Take-Two, including Visual Concepts and Kush Games, which had been acquired the day before. Originally based in New York City, 2K moved to Novato in 2007. A third label, 2K Play, was added in September 2007. 2K is governed by David Ismailer as president and Phil Dixon as chief operating officer. It operates a motion capture studio in Petaluma, California.

Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Collective to form Foundation 9 Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pipeworks Studios</span> American video game developer

Pipeworks Studios is an American video game developer based in Eugene, Oregon. The company was founded in November 1999 by Dan White and Dan Duncalf and works to provide full development, co-development, and live operations to video game publishers and other partners, in addition to creating original IPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Eclipse</span> American video game developer

Digital Eclipse Entertainment Partners Co. is an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. Founded by Andrew Ayre in 1992, the company found success developing commercial emulations of arcade games for Game Boy Color. In 2003, the company merged with ImaginEngine and created Backbone Entertainment. A group of Digital Eclipse employees split off from Backbone to form Other Ocean Interactive, which, in 2015, bought and revived the Digital Eclipse brand. Among its staff is video game preservation specialist Frank Cifaldi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double Helix Games</span> American video game developer

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.

Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. Founded on 13 December 2004, the studio is best known for its work in the Batman: Arkham series. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games.

VIS Entertainment Limited was a British video game developer based in Edinburgh. Chris van der Kuyl and Peter Baillie established the company in 1996. In 2003, VIS Entertainment faced financial struggles and closed its studios in London and on the Isle of Wight, while downsizing its VIS iTV joint venture. After BAM! Entertainment acquired the studio in May 2004, VIS Entertainment was placed into administration April 2005, subsequently being liquidated and dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubisoft Quebec</span> Canadian video game development company

Ubisoft Quebec is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Quebec City. The studio was established in June 2005 and is best known for its work in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation Studios</span> Group of video game developers owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment

PlayStation Studios is an American division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worldwide Studios in September 2005 and rebranded as PlayStation Studios in 2020.

DC Studios Inc. was a British video game developer based in Montreal, Canada. Founded by Mark Greenshields in December 1999, it was originally located in Glasgow, and later expanded to Montreal, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Following the underperformance of State of Emergency 2, which the company had acquired from VIS Entertainment, DC Studios closed its Scotland operations in June 2006. The remaining Montreal office was closed in September 2007. Both offices were replaced by ones for Greenshields' newer venture, Firebrand Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Other Ocean Interactive</span> Canadian-American video game developer

Other Ocean Interactive is a Canadian-American video game developer based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Emeryville, California. Originally founded in 2006 in Charlottetown, as a studio for Foundation 9 Entertainment, the studio was spun off as Other Ocean Interactive in May 2007. Since then, it has made eight games itself and has been involved in the development of 40 other games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumo Group</span> British video game holding company

Sumo Group Limited is a British video game holding company based in Sheffield. It was formed in December 2017 as the parent company for Sumo Digital and Atomhawk, followed by its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange later that month. Another of Sumo Group's subsidiaries is Secret Mode, a publisher established in March 2021. After purchasing a minority stake in Sumo Group in November 2019, Tencent wholly acquired the company in January 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Martin, Matt (April 12, 2007). "Solid Foundations". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ Feldman, Curt (March 29, 2005). "The Collective, Backbone laying Foundation 9". GameSpot . Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, David (March 29, 2005). "Backbone Entertainment, The Collective To Merge". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  4. ↑ Maragos, Nich (April 12, 2005). "Foundation 9 Acquires Pipeworks Software". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  5. ↑ Gamespot Staff (April 12, 2005). "Pipeworks laid into Foundation 9". GameSpot .
  6. ↑ Gibson, Ellie (May 27, 2005). "Foundation 9 teams up with Hollywood management specialists". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ Carless, Simon (June 1, 2006). "Foundation 9 Gets 'Significant' Funding Investment". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Dobson, Jason (October 2, 2006). "Foundation 9 Acquires Shiny From Atari". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ Gamespot Staff (November 14, 2006). "Foundation 9 Amazed". GameSpot . Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  10. ↑ Elliott, Phil (August 17, 2007). "Foundation 9 buys Sumo". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  11. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (October 9, 2007). "Shiny, Collective Merged into Mega Studio". IGN . Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Martin, Matt (January 16, 2008). "Foundation 9 promotes three execs". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  14. ↑ Androvich, Mark (March 17, 2008). "North-Hearn named Foundation 9 CEO". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  15. ↑ Caoili, Eric (July 21, 2008). "F9E Reinstates Griptonite, Fizz Factor Brands". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Spencer, Tiffany (March 21, 2011). "Griptonite India (Formerly FXLabs) Announces Expansion Plans in Hyderabad". Press Trust of India . Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  18. ↑ Cifaldi, Frank (August 2, 2011). "Glu Mobile Picks Up Griptonite, Blammo After Narrowing Losses". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  19. ↑ Lavender, Terry (November 18, 2009). "Is it Game Over for Vancouver's Video Game Industry? Not quite yet". Vancouver Observer . Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  20. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (October 12, 2012). "ImaginEngine game studio shuts down (exclusive)". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  21. ↑ Rose, Mike (October 9, 2012). "Layoffs at digital game studio Backbone Entertainment". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ Buri McDonald, Sherri (February 21, 2016). "Pipeworks progress". The Register-Guard . Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  24. ↑ Rose, Mike (November 11, 2014). "Sumo Digital has separated from its parent company". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  25. ↑ "GP Bullhound advises Foundation 9 Entertainment on the sale of Sumo Digital and Pipeworks". GP Bullhound. November 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  26. ↑ . February 6, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040206203019/http://www.amazeentertainment.com/index.asp?p=home. Archived from the original on February 6, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ↑ . February 14, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040214155902/http://www.knowwonder.com/Whoweare.html. Archived from the original on February 14, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.