InXile Entertainment

Last updated

inXile Entertainment, Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
FoundedOctober 26, 2002;21 years ago (2002-10-26) in Newport Beach, California, US
Founder Brian Fargo
Headquarters
Tustin, California
,
US
Number of locations
2 (2024)
Key people
Number of employees
70 [1]  (2018)
Parent Xbox Game Studios (2018–present)
Website inxile-entertainment.com

inXile Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Tustin, California. Specializing in role-playing video games, inXile was founded in 2002 by Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo. The studio produced the fantasy games The Bard's Tale and Hunted: The Demon's Forge , along with various games for Flash and iOS such as Fantastic Contraption in its first decade of development. In 2014, inXile released the post-apocalyptic game Wasteland 2 , following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Following the game's critical success, the studio went on to raise a then-record US$4 million on Kickstarter to develop Torment: Tides of Numenera , a spiritual successor to Interplay's Planescape: Torment . The studio was purchased by Microsoft and became part of Xbox Game Studios in 2018, just as they were developing Wasteland 3 , which they released in 2020. The studio is currently developing Clockwork Revolution for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

Contents

History

inXile Entertainment was founded on October 26, 2002, [2] by Brian Fargo in Newport Beach, California. [3]

In an interview with Joystiq, inXile's President Matthew Findley shared some of the company's history: "I worked with Brian Fargo at Interplay for a number of years and we both left Interplay at the same time. We knew we wanted to stay in video games, so starting a company seemed like a good idea -- he spent 20 years at Interplay and I was there for 13. When we were first out there, trying to figure out what to do next, we kinda felt like we were in exile, and we made fake cards with a fake company name just to have a card to go to E3 with. And before we ever thought of the name "inXile", Brian put as his job description on the cards: "Leader in exile." People got such a kick out of that card, we kept saying "in exile, in exile, in exile" so much that we just thought, "Why not make up a new word?" And so we did." [4]

In May 2008, inXile announced the creation of SparkWorkz, an online business division with a focus on user-generated content, using their experience with Line Rider as base for the venture. [5] David Heeley, a former executive for Microsoft, was hired to oversee the creation of the division. [6]

In April 2012, inXile launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Wasteland 2 , the sequel to Interplay's Wasteland , with most of the original team on board. The crowdfunding drive raised more than 300% of its initial goal of $900,000, ending at $2,933,252. [7] In March 2013, inXile returned to Kickstarter to crowdfund Torment: Tides of Numenera . [8] The Kickstarter for Torment: Tides of Numenera broke the record of fastest Kickstart drive to $1 million, raising that amount in seven hours and two minutes. [9]

During a Kickstarter campaign for the game Wasteland 2 , Brian Fargo developed the Kicking it Forward program. [10] Under this program, inXile Entertainment pledged to use 5% of post-launch net profits to back future Kickstarter projects. [11]

In October 2015, inXile opened inXile New Orleans as a second studio based in New Orleans. [12] The Newport Beach office was moved to Tustin by January 2021. [13]

In November 2018, Microsoft Studios announced they were in the final stages of acquiring InXile, as well as Obsidian Entertainment, another studio known for its role-playing games. [14] According to Fargo, they were approached in April 2018 by Noah Musler, one of Microsoft's business development executives that had former ties to the studio, who suggested the possibility of acquisition. Fargo believed the acquisition was beneficial for the studio, as at the time, they were in the "uncanny valley" between more independent game development and high-budget AAA games where there was a significant difference in expectations on quality and pricing of the game. Microsoft's support would help them make games that are closer to AAA games and better compete in the current state of the industry. [1]

In June 2023, inXile unveiled their new game Clockwork Revolution during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023. [15]

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)
2004 The Bard's Tale Android, BlackBerry PlayBook, Classic Mac OS, iOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Ouya, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
2008 Fantastic Contraption Adobe Flash, iOS, Wii
Line Rider 2: Unbound iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii
2009Super StackerAdobe Flash, iOS
Super Stacker 2
Shape Shape
2010Super Stacker Party PlayStation Network
2011 Hunted: The Demon's Forge Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2012 Choplifter HD Microsoft Windows, Ouya, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade
2014 Wasteland 2 Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2017 Torment: Tides of Numenera Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Mage's Tale Microsoft Windows
2018 The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep [16] Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2020 Wasteland Remastered Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
Wasteland 3 Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Frostpoint VR: Proving GroundsMicrosoft Windows
TBA Clockwork Revolution Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S

Cancelled games

TitlePlatform(s)
Heist Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Related Research Articles

<i>Wasteland</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Wasteland is a role-playing video game developed by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1988. The first installment of the Wasteland series, it is set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic America destroyed by a nuclear holocaust generations before. Developers originally made the game for the Apple II and it was ported to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. It was re-released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in 2013 via Steam and GOG.com, and in 2014 via Desura. A remastered version titled Wasteland Remastered was released on February 25, 2020, in honor of the original game's 30th anniversary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Cook</span> American writer and game designer

Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>The Bards Tale</i> (1985 video game) 1985 video game

The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing video game designed and programmed by Michael Cranford for the Apple II. It was produced by Interplay Productions in 1985 and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game was ported to the Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Mac, and NES. It spawned The Bard's Tale series of games and books. The earliest editions of the game used a series title of Tales of the Unknown, but this title was dropped for later ports of The Bard's Tale and subsequent games in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Fargo</span> American video game designer

Frank Brian Fargo is an American video game designer, producer, programmer and executive, and founder of Interplay Entertainment, inXile Entertainment and Robot Cache.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Avellone</span> American video game designer

Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer. He worked for Interplay and Obsidian Entertainment before becoming a freelance designer and writer. He is best known for his work on role-playing video games such as Planescape: Torment, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and the Fallout series.

Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquhart, Chris Avellone, Chris Parker, Darren Monahan, and Chris Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Techland</span> Polish video game developer and publisher

Techland S.A. is a Polish video game developer and publisher founded in 1991 by Paweł Marchewka. It developed Call of Juarez (2006) and its prequel Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (2009), as well as Dead Island (2011) and Dying Light (2015). The company is headquartered in Wrocław in western Poland and has offices in Wrocław and Warsaw.

<i>Van Buren</i> (video game) Video game

Van Buren was the codename of a canceled role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios. It was intended to be the third game in the mainline Fallout series. Set in the year 2253, the plot of Van Buren revolved around a prisoner who would explore the American Southwest while being chased by robotic prison guards. The main antagonist was a mad scientist named Victor Presper, who planned on using the prisoner as an inadvertent vector to spread a deadly virus. Gameplay would have included a mixture of real-time and turn-based combat. The player would explore the map with a team of non-playable character (NPC) companions. Each NPC would make their own independent decisions which would affect the story.

Colin McComb is an American writer and game designer, who is best known for his work designing the Planescape setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and as the creative lead for the role-playing video game Torment: Tides of Numenera. He is the co-founder of 3lb Games, a virtual reality gaming studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason D. Anderson</span> American video game developer

Jason D. Anderson, usually credited as Jason Anderson, is a video game developer. He started out as a contract artist for Interplay on the USCF Chess project. He was later hired to work on Fallout for which he became Lead Technical Artist, working on the original game design, interface, and quests. After working on the prototype design for Fallout 2, Anderson left with fellow developers Timothy Cain and Leonard Boyarsky to found Troika Games. After Troika Games collapsed, Anderson left the game industry for a short time to sell real estate.

Meantime was a cancelled role-playing video game originally intended for the Apple II and possibly for the Commodore 64. It was a follow-up to 1988's Wasteland, produced by Interplay, using the same engine as Wasteland. Brian Fargo halted development for this platform, in part due to the falling 8-bit computer market. Later attempts were made to finish the game for MS-DOS, but the project was canceled for good after the release of the competing Ultima VII, as it was felt they would be releasing a graphically inferior product.

Brian Mitsoda is an American video game designer and writer best known for his work on the 2004 game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. He is the founder of DoubleBear Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Ziets</span> American video game designer

George Ziets is an American video game designer best known as the Creative Lead for the 2007 PC game Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.

<i>Wasteland 2</i> 2014 video game

Wasteland 2 is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 1988's Wasteland, and was successfully crowdfunded through Kickstarter. After the postponement of the original release date from October 2013, it was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in September 2014. An enhanced version of the game, named Wasteland 2: Director's Cut, was released in October 2015, including versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Torment: Tides of Numenera</i> Role-playing video game

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Techland Publishing for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is a spiritual successor to 1999's Planescape: Torment.

The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a 2018 dungeon crawler video game developed by inXile Entertainment as a continuation to The Bard's Tale trilogy from the 1980s.

<i>Wasteland 3</i> 2020 role-playing video game

Wasteland 3 is a role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is a sequel to Wasteland 2 (2014) and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2020. A Linux and macOS port was released on December 17, 2020.

Wasteland is a role-playing video game series created by Brian Fargo. The first game, Wasteland, was originally developed by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1988. inXile Entertainment later acquired the intellectual property from Electronic Arts and developed two sequels, Wasteland 2 (2014) and Wasteland 3 (2020), based on crowdfunding and published by Deep Silver. The games are set in post-apocalyptic open worlds and features turn-based combat similar to that of the earlier Fallout games, of which they are a spiritual predecessor. Xbox Game Studios owns the series after their acquisition of inXile Entertainment.

<i>Clockwork Revolution</i> Video game

Clockwork Revolution is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by InXile Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is scheduled to be released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

References

  1. 1 2 Purchese, Robert (November 19, 2018). "InXile acquired by Microsoft: the interview". Eurogamer .
  2. ↑ @inXile (October 26, 2018). "#HappyBirthday to us! Sixteen years..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ Jennifer, Larino (November 12, 2018). "Microsoft is buying video game developer inXile and its New Orleans studio" . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  4. ↑ Hinkle, David (February 16, 2011). "What's in a Name: InXile Entertainment". Engadget . AOL. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Inxile Entertainment Announces Sparkworz Division". May 7, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ Martin, Matt (May 8, 2008). "inXile hires former Microsoft exec for new division" . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Wasteland 2 Kickstarter". Kickstarter. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter". Kickstarter. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Torment: Tides of Numenera Shatters Kickstarter Record". The Escapist. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ Rob Lammle 7 (April 15, 2012). "5 Retro Games Brought Back From the Dead By Kickstarter". Mashable.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Fargo, Brian. "inXile entertainment". Kicking It Forward. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (October 22, 2015). "Wasteland 2 Dev Opening New Orleans Office, Will Pay $75,000 Salaries". GameSpot . CBS Interactive . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ Macgregor, Jody (January 6, 2021). "Job listings suggest the next inXile game will be a first-person shooter RPG". PC Gamer . Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ Conditt, Jessica. "Microsoft Studios buys 'Fallout: New Vegas' house Obsidian and 'Wasteland 2' developer inXile Entertainment". Engadget. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  15. ↑ Bhattacharyya, Kushal (June 12, 2023). "Clockwork Revolution by creators of Fallout and Wasteland revealed: expected release date, gameplay, and more". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 18, 2015). "Brian Fargo's vision for The Bard's Tale 4. Kickstarter launches next month. First "promo screen" released". Eurogamer . Gamer Network Ltd. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
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.