 | |
| Type | Subsidiary of THQ |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Defunct | June 13, 2011 |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of employees | 70 |
| Parent | THQ |
Kaos Studios was an American video game developer based in New York City, New York. Founded in 2006, the company was most known for developing Frontlines: Fuel of War (2008) and Homefront (2011). It was a subsidiary of publisher THQ until it was shut down in June 2011.
Kaos Studios was formed in 2006 when publisher THQ hired the core members of Trauma Studios (having been acquired and then shut down by EA) the team behind the popular Desert Combat modification for Battlefield 1942 , to create a new studio based to focus on first-person shooter video games.
In February 2008, Kaos Studios released their first game, Frontlines: Fuel of War , for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. In March 2009, THQ announced that Kaos Studios was recruiting for their then-upcoming game Homefront . [1] Homefront was released on March 15, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America, with the European release set a week later.
In March 2011, THQ, after its game Homefront was released, suffered a 26% stock drop. The large drop was speculated to be a result of Homefront's less than expected reception. On June 13, 2011, THQ announced the closure of Kaos Studios. In the meantime, Homefront development team has been transferred to the company's Montreal studio. Its first planned for THQ's Montreal studio to take over product development and overall creative management for the Homefront franchise. In September 2011 THQ confirmed that a sequel to Homefront was in development, but later was announced that the game would be developed by Crytek UK instead. After THQ filed for bankruptcy in December 2012, Crytek would acquire the rights to the franchise for US$544,218 at the January 22, 2013 auction. At same day Ubisoft acquired THQ Montreal with approximately 170 employees and with rights to new yet-to-be announced IP in development at the studio for $2.5 million.
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | PS3 | X360 | ||
| 2008 | Frontlines: Fuel of War | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2011 | Homefront | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rare Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Twycross. Rare's games span the platform, first-person shooter, action-adventure, fighting, and racing genres. Its most popular games include the Battletoads, Donkey Kong, and Banjo-Kazooie series, as well as games like GoldenEye 007 (1997), Perfect Dark (2000), Viva Piñata (2006), and Sea of Thieves (2018).
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.
Relic Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as Homeworld, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. Acquired by THQ in 2004, the company was sold to Sega on January 22, 2013 as part of THQ's bankruptcy. Relic is now a part of Sega Europe, which also comprises Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive and Amplitude Studios.
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.
Trauma Studios was an American video game developer company founded in 2003. They were best known for having created Desert Combat, a mod for Battlefield 1942.
TimeSplitters is a series of first-person shooter video games developed by Free Radical Design. The games are often considered spiritual successors to GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, due to overlaps in gameplay, design, and development team. Each game features a time travelling element in which players battle across a diverse number of locations and periods in history.
Free Radical Design Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Nottingham. Founded by David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton and Graeme Norgate in Stoke-on-Trent in April 1999, they are best known for their TimeSplitters series of games. After going into financial administration, it was announced on 3 February 2009 that the studio had been acquired by German video game developer Crytek and would be renamed Crytek UK. Crytek had a good relationship with the city of Nottingham due in part to its sponsorship of the Gamecity festival and its recruitment drives with Nottingham Trent University. In 2014, the studio would close and a majority of the staff transferred to the newly formed Dambuster Studios. In May 2021, the original founders reformed the studio, led by Doak and Ellis, to create a new entry in the TimeSplitters series. The current studio incarnation operates under Deep Silver.
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Frontlines: Fuel of War is a first-person shooter game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It was released February 25, 2008 in North America. It was produced by the now-defunct Kaos Studios. Frontlines: Fuel of War was also originally in development for the PlayStation 3, although THQ announced it had canceled work on this version on January 24, 2008, seemingly as a result of problems with developing for the PlayStation 3, issues that had been referenced in interviews prior to the PlayStation 3 version's cancellation.
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The AFL video game series is a series of Australian rules football video games based on the AFL. Released originally by Beam Software, it has since been developed by several other game developers.
Homefront is a first-person shooter video game developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ. The game tells the story of a resistance movement fighting in the near-future against the military occupation of the Western United States by North Korea. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. After THQ's bankruptcy, the rights of the game were sold to Crytek who then sold the rights to Koch Media after restructuring their company. Deep Silver, a subsidiary of Koch Media, have published the reboot Homefront: The Revolution. Homefront was met with mixed reviews across all platforms. Some critics praised the atmosphere and story, while others panned those same aspects, along with the short length of the single-player campaign. However, the multiplayer aspect was generally well received.
4A Games Limited is a Ukrainian-Maltese video game developer based in Sliema, Malta. The company was founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2006 by three developers who departed from GSC Game World. In 2014, 4A Games moved its headquarters to Sliema, wherein the Kyiv office was retained as a sub-studio. The company is best known for developing the Metro video game series.
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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.
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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.
