 | |
| Formerly | Xatrix Entertainment, Inc. (1993–1999) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | March 1993 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Fate | Merged into Treyarch |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | Drew Markham (creative director) |
Number of employees | 18–20 (2001) |
| Parent | Activision (2002–2005) |
Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Inc. (Gray Matter Studios; formerly Xatrix Entertainment, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles.
Drew Markham and his business partner Barry Dempsey founded Xatrix Entertainment in March 1993. The studio's first release was Cyberia in 1994. [1] Among its later projects was Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning , for which it worked with publisher Activision. [2] Around 1999, some of the original business partners sought to exit the company. To handle this efficiently, Xatrix was transferred to a new corporation under Markham as creative director. [3] With the assistance of Activision, Gray Matter Studios was established on June 17, 1999, and took over most of the former employees. [4] [5] Activision initially owned 40% of the studio. [6] It bought the remaining 60% in January 2002, after the successful release of Return to Castle Wolfenstein . [2] [7] The publisher paid 133,690 shares of common stock, at the time worth around US$3.2 million. [7] Post-acquisition, the studio was put to work on the Call of Duty: United Offensive expansion. [8] It also worked on Trinity: The Shatter Effect, which was announced and then canceled in late 2003. [9] [10] In 2005, during the development of Call of Duty 2: Big Red One , Gray Matter Studios was merged into Activision's Treyarch studio. As part of Treyarch, the former Gray Matter Studios team worked on Call of Duty 3 . [8] [11]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Cyberia |
| 1995 | Cyberia 2: Resurrection |
| 1997 | Redneck Rampage |
| 1998 | Redneck Rampage Rides Again |
| Redneck Deer Huntin' | |
| Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning | |
| 1999 | Kingpin: Life of Crime |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Return to Castle Wolfenstein |
| 2004 | Call of Duty: United Offensive |
Raven Software Corporation is an American video game developer based in Wisconsin and founded in 1990. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, many of the studio's original developers, largely responsible for creating the Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic games, left to form Human Head Studios.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a first-person shooter video game published by Activision, released on November 20, 2001, for Microsoft Windows and subsequently for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Linux and Macintosh. The game serves as a reboot of the Wolfenstein series. It was developed by Gray Matter Studios and Nerve Software developed its multiplayer mode. id Software, the creators of Wolfenstein 3D, oversaw the development and were credited as executive producers. The multiplayer side eventually became the most popular part of the game, and was influential in the genre. Splash Damage created some of the maps for the Game of the Year edition. A sequel, titled Wolfenstein, was released on August 18, 2009.
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016.
Call of Duty is a 2003 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the first installment in the Call of Duty franchise, released on October 29, 2003, for Microsoft Windows. The game simulates infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II using a modified version of the id Tech 3 engine. Much of its theme and gameplay is similar to the Medal of Honor series; however, Call of Duty showcases multiple viewpoints staged in the American, British, and Soviet campaigns of World War II in Europe.
Infinity Ward, Inc. is an American video game developer. They developed the video game Call of Duty, along with seven other installments in the Call of Duty series. Vince Zampella, Grant Collier, and Jason West established Infinity Ward in 2002 after working at 2015, Inc. previously. All of the 22 original team members of Infinity Ward came from the team that had worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault while at 2015, Inc. Activision helped fund Infinity Ward in its early days, buying up 30 percent of the company, before eventually fully acquiring them. The studio's first game, World War II shooter Call of Duty, was released on the PC in 2003. The day after the game was released, Activision bought the rest of Infinity Ward, signing employees to long-term contracts. Infinity Ward went on to make Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, the Modern Warfare reboot, and its sequel.
Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Woodland Hills, California. The studio was founded by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward in July 1994 and was acquired by Activision in October 1999. Initially, the studio worked with Playmates Toys, where they worked on the game Skeleton Warriors, which was based on a animated television series of the same name. Throughout 1996, the studio grew, and worked on projects with Crystal Dynamics and Sony Computer Entertainment, but due to internal conflicts, they were cancelled.
Treyarch Corporation is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü, it was acquired by Activision in 2001. The studio is known for its work for the Call of Duty series, which it develops alongside Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software.
Pi Studios was a Video games developer founded in 2002 by Robert Erwin, John Faulkenbury, Rob Heironimus, Dan Kramer and Peter Mack whose first commercial work can be found in Activision's Call of Duty: United Offensive. The company originated in Plano, Texas and relocated to Houston, Texas in January, 2005.
Call of Duty 3 is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the third major installment in the Call of Duty series. It was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. It was a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia. It is also the only major installment to not release on the PC.
Rockstar New England, Inc. is an American video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Andover, Massachusetts. Ian Lane Davis founded the company as Mad Doc Software in November 1999 after working as technical director for Activision. The studio worked with Activision on Star Trek: Armada before leading the development of its sequel, Star Trek: Armada II. From 2002 on, Mad Doc was the principal developer of the Empire Earth series, developing two games and two expansions. While the successful Empire Earth II landed the company publishing contracts with Rockstar Games and Bethesda Softworks, Empire Earth III was a critical and commercial failure and led to an end for the series. Mad Doc developed Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda Softworks and Bully: Scholarship Edition for Rockstar Games. After the latter was released in March 2008, Rockstar Games's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, bought Mad Doc and made it part of Rockstar Games as Rockstar New England. Under Rockstar Games, the studio worked on a sequel to Bully until its developers were reallocated to projects like Max Payne 3.
Call of Duty is a military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-off and handheld games were made by other developers. The most recent title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, was released on November 10, 2023. The upcoming title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, is scheduled to be released in October 2024.
Beenox Inc. is a Canadian video game developer established in 2000 in Quebec City. The studio became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision on May 25, 2005.
Call of Duty: World at War is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment of the Call of Duty series and is the fourth entry in the series to be set during World War II. The game was announced by Activision in June 2008 and was released in November 2008, for PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, and Wii. Other games under the World at War title were published for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2, featuring different storylines and missions.
Sledgehammer Games, Inc. is an American video game developer company formed in 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. The pair formerly worked at Visceral Games and are responsible for the creation of Dead Space. The company is based in Foster City, California. The studio has developed and co-developed various video games in the Call of Duty series. The company is owned by Activision which itself is owned by Microsoft.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a 2010 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide in November 2010 for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Aspyr later ported the game to OS X in September 2012. It is the seventh title in the Call of Duty series and a sequel to Call of Duty: World at War.
The IW engine is a game engine created and developed by Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series. The engine was originally based on id Tech 3. Aside from Infinity Ward, the engine is also used by other Activision studios working on the series, including primary lead developers Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games, and support studios like Beenox, High Moon Studios, and Raven Software.
Call of Duty: Elite was an online service created by the Activision subsidiary Beachhead Studios for the multiplayer portion for the first-person shooter video game series Call of Duty. The service featured lifetime statistics across multiple games as well as a multitude of social-networking options. The service previously had a premium subscription option during Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; however, following the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the service was made free. As of February 28, 2014 at approximately 10:00 a.m. (PST), Activision shut down the Call of Duty: Elite website in favor of their mobile products.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a 2018 multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on October 12, 2018. It is a prequel to the 2015 game Call of Duty: Black Ops III, the fifth entry in the Black Ops sub-series, and the 15th installment in the Call of Duty series overall.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It was released on November 5 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It serves as the 18th installment in the overall Call of Duty series. Vanguard establishes a storyline featuring the birth of the special forces to face an emerging threat at the end of the war during various theatres of World War II.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
