 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | Crytek USA |
| Founded | July 2014 |
| Founder | David Adams |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 82 [1] (2021) |
| Parent | THQ Nordic (2019–present) |
| Website | gunfiregames |
Gunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just before that studio's closure. The company was acquired by THQ Nordic in August 2019.
Gunfire Games founder David Adams had previously founded the developer Vigil Games alongside other former NCSoft employees in 2005. [2] Vigil Games developed the Darksiders series and was acquired by THQ in 2006. [2] The studio remained mostly unchanged until 2013, when THQ folded after filing for bankruptcy in 2012. [2] [3] On the last day of Vigil Games' operations, Adams received a call from Crytek asking him to help establish an American branch for the company; subsequently, Adams found himself as chief executive officer of the newly established Crytek USA two days later, bringing two-thirds of Vigil Games' former staff (around 50 people) with him. [2] The idea for Crytek USA came about last-minute as no one had bid to acquire Vigil Games in THQ's bankruptcy auctions. [2] [3] Crytek later faced financial challenges as a result of which Crytek USA was chronically under-funded. [2] [3] At the same time, Adams wished to take matters in his own hands without having to rely on a larger governing entity. [2] [3] Thus, in July 2014, Adams decided to start an independent studio, Gunfire Games, and quit his job of eighteen months on the same day. [2]
Gunfire Games began with seven people, all of them former leads from Crytek USA. [2] Matthew Guzenda became the studio director. [2] The studio quickly grew to 22 people by February 2015, and to 60 people by November 2017. [3] [4] For initial financing, the company turned to developing virtual reality games, partially in work-for-hire projects, for the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headsets. [3] [4] The studio developed five such games: Herobound: Spirit Champion, Herobound Gladiators, Chronos , Dead and Buried, From Other Suns. [3] [5] Following exchanges with Nordic Games (later known as THQ Nordic), Gunfire Games got to develop Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition , a remaster of Darksiders II, which had been created by Vigil Games. [2] [3] The studio was also hired to develop a new entry in the Darksiders franchise, Darksiders III , which was released in 2018. [3] In August 2019, THQ Nordic acquired Gunfire Games for an undisclosed price. [6] At the time, Gunfire Games had 63 employees. [6] Gunfire Games' latest game, Remnant: From the Ashes , released on August 20, 2019 through publisher Perfect World Entertainment. [7]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Herobound: Spirit Champion | Microsoft Windows, Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR | Oculus Studios, Gunfire Games |
| Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | THQ Nordic | |
| 2016 | Herobound Gladiators | Microsoft Windows, Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR | Oculus Studios |
| Chronos | Microsoft Windows | Gunfire Games | |
| Dead and Buried | Microsoft Windows, Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR | Oculus Studios | |
| 2017 | From Other Suns | Microsoft Windows | Gunfire Games |
| 2018 | Darksiders III | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | THQ Nordic |
| 2019 | Remnant: From the Ashes | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | Perfect World Entertainment |
| 2020 | Chronos: Before the Ashes | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia | THQ Nordic |
| 2023 | Remnant II | Microsoft Windows, Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Gearbox Publishing |
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initially working in the toy business, it expanded into the video game business through several acquisitions before shifting its focus away from toys entirely. THQ continued its trend of acquiring companies throughout the 2000s.
Crytek GmbH is a German video game developer and software developer based in Frankfurt. Founded by the Yerli brothers in Coburg in 1999 and moved to Frankfurt in 2006, Crytek also operates further studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. Its former studios included Crytek Black Sea in Sofia, Bulgaria, Crytek UK in Nottingham, and Crytek USA in Austin, Texas. Crytek is best known for developing the first instalment of the Far Cry series, and the Crysis series, and the open world nature of their games which showcase the company's CryEngine.
Deep Silver is an Austrian video game publisher and a division of Plaion.
Rainbow Studios is an American video game developer based in Phoenix, Arizona, best known for developing offroad racing games, such as Motocross Madness and the MX vs. ATV series. It was established by Earl Jarred in 1986 under the name Rainbow Multimedia Group and rebranded as Rainbow Studios in 1992. In January 2002, the company was acquired by THQ, under the ownership of which it was renamed THQ Digital Studios Phoenix in February 2010 and closed in August 2011. The studio was re-instated as Rainbow Studios in 2013 by Nordic Games, a publishing company that had purchased most assets of the then-bankrupt THQ earlier that year.
People Can Fly is a Polish video game developer based in Warsaw. The studio was founded in February 2002 by Adrian Chmielarz, previously the co-founder of Metropolis Software, together with acquaintances Michał Kosieradzki and Andrzej Poznański. The studio's first game was Painkiller (2004). Its success led to a deal with THQ for the game Come Midnight, which allowed the studio to expand. After the game was cancelled, People Can Fly found itself in financial trouble. Epic Games acquired a majority share in People Can Fly in August 2007 and collaborated with the studio on projects such as Bulletstorm (2011) and Gears of War: Judgment (2013).
Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams in 2005.
Plaion is a German-Austrian media company headquartered in Höfen, Tyrol, Austria, with an operating subsidiary based in Planegg, Germany. The company was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company operates video game publishing labels Deep Silver, Prime Matter and Ravenscourt, the video game developers Warhorse Studios and Milestone, as well as a film distribution arm, Plaion Pictures. Koch Media's parent company, Koch Media Holding, was acquired by Swedish holding company Embracer Group in February 2018.
David Adams is an American video game designer best known for his work on Darksiders and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium. In 2014, Adams founded Gunfire Games
Darksiders II is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. It is the sequel to Darksiders and was released in August 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and as a launch title for Wii U upon the console's North American and PAL regions release in November 2012. The story follows the efforts of player character Death to clear the name of his brother, War, who stands accused of wiping out humanity. On a total budget of $50 million, it was one of the most expensive video games to develop of all time.
THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014. THQ Nordic's core portfolio comprises assets that were acquired from other developers and publishers, such as from JoWooD Entertainment and its subsidiaries DreamCatcher Interactive and The Adventure Company in 2011, THQ in 2013, and NovaLogic in 2016. THQ Nordic has acquired and established several subsidiary studios, including Black Forest Games, Bugbear Entertainment, Gunfire Games, HandyGames, Piranha Bytes, Purple Lamp, and Rainbow Studios.
Crytek USA Corp. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas, and a subsidiary of Crytek. The studio was led by David Adams, who was formerly the CEO of Vigil Games; a studio that had been acquired by THQ, but was shut down as part of THQ's Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 23, 2013. Adams was personally courted by Crytek's founder Cevat Yerli due to Vigil's work on the Darksiders series, and the trust and leadership of his studio's former staff—many of whom had also joined him at the studio.
Hunt: Showdown is a first-person shooter video game by Crytek. It was launched on Steam in early access on 22 February 2018, and for Xbox Game Preview on 29 May 2019. The full release of the game launched on 27 August 2019 for Microsoft Windows, it was also released on Xbox One on 19 September 2019 and PlayStation 4 on 18 February 2020. In the game, the player assumes the role of a bounty hunter who tries to kill mythical monsters in order to claim their bounties and survive long enough against other bounty hunters to reach an extraction point.
Deep Silver Dambuster Studios Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Nottingham, England. The studio was set up by Deep Silver on 30 July 2014 to take over the development of Homefront: The Revolution from Crytek UK, which was closed later that same day, transferring all of its employees to Dambuster Studios.
Darksiders III is an Action role-playing game developed by Gunfire Games and published by THQ Nordic for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third entry in the Darksiders series.
Darksiders is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mankind faces near-extinction and angels fight a losing battle against the demon hordes for control over the world. Among them are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the last of the Nephilim who are tasked to bring balance to the universe.
Embracer Group AB is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. As of August 2022, Embracer Group has twelve operative groups as its direct subsidiaries: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Holding, Dark Horse Media, DECA Games, Easybrain, Embracer Freemode including its subdivision Middle-earth Enterprises, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. Each group has its own operations, subsidiaries and development studios.
Chronos is a 2016 action role-playing game developed and published by Gunfire Games for the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset. The game received generally positive reviews upon release. An overhauled version of the game, titled Chronos: Before the Ashes was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Stadia on December 1, 2020.
Airship Syndicate Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game development company based in Austin, Texas. Founded by several ex-Vigil Games staff including Joe Madureira and Ryan Stefanelli, in 2014, Airship Syndicate is most known for developing Battle Chasers: Nightwar (2017), Darksiders Genesis (2019) and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story (2021).