Pi Studios

Last updated
Pi Studios
Type Private
Industry Video games
Founded Plano, Texas, U.S. (2002)
DefunctMarch 2011
FateDissolved
Headquarters Houston, Texas
Key people
Robert Erwin (President)

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.

Contents

In November, 2005, Pi Studios released Call of Duty 2: Big Red One for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the GameCube. Work on that project was done jointly with Activision's internal studio, Treyarch. This led to work on Call of Duty 3 in October 2006, developed jointly with Treyarch. Pi's work on the Call of Duty franchise continued with the Call of Duty 3 Bravo Map Pack (downloadable via Xbox Live Arcade) followed by Call of Duty: World at War , in which they assisted Treyarch in creating the single player mission "Blowtorch and Corkscrew".

Pi Studios helped develop the Halo 2 Vista editing toolset and exclusive multiplayer map content, which was included with the game.

Pi Studios also developed Mercenaries 2: World in Flames on PlayStation 2 which was released in the United States on August 31, 2008, and in Europe on September 5, 2008.

Pi Studios is responsible for the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band , which shipped December 18, 2007 and June 22, 2008, respectively. These were developed in conjunction with Harmonix. Pi Studios also worked with Harmonix to produce four Rock Band Track Packs for the Wii and PlayStation 2. The two companies' final collaborative effort was on The Beatles: Rock Band for the (Wii), released in 2009. Bomberman Live: Battlefest for Xbox Live Arcade, released in December 2010.

Pi Studios was developing Bonk: Brink of Extinction for release on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation 3 and Wii but it was cancelled.

In March 2011, it was announced that Pi Studios was closed as former employees have now formed a new development team called Category 6 Studios, which currently has around 15 members including co-founder and industry veteran Kenn Hoekstra. [1]

Games developed

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The Rock Band series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on Rock Band 3. Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010, are cross-compatible between Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3, while those after only work with Rock Band 3. All songs that are available to Rock Band 3 will be playable in Rock Band Blitz. Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in Lego Rock Band.

References

  1. Elliott, Phil (2011-04-01). "Pi Studios set for closure - report". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-26.