Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video games |
Founded | January 22, 2000 |
Founders |
|
Headquarters | , Canada |
Parent | Enad Global 7 (2020–present) |
Website | piranhagames |
Piranha Games Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia. [1] The company was founded by Russ Bullock, President and Executive Producer, and Bryan Ekman, VP and Creative Director. [2] Piranha Games is one of the oldest game developers in the Greater Vancouver area and was housed in the International Village Mall in the Chinatown area until their relocation to their current Burnaby headquarters. On November 25, 2020, Piranha Games entered into an agreement to be acquired by Enad Global 7. [3]
In the Autumn of 1999, three entrepreneurs – Bullock, Ekman, and Jason Holtslander – set out to create a Half-Life mod called Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (DH:NP). After working together for a few months, the team received a letter from Fox Interactive requiring all work on the mod cease and desist. The three used this event as a catalyst to pursue their dreams of starting a new development studio and turning Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza into a full product for the PC platform.
Piranha Games Inc. was officially founded in early 2000 by Bullock, Ekman, and Holtslander, with an initial infusion of private funding. After an 8-month period of creating demos for Fox Interactive, a deal was struck in August 2000, and Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza was officially under production.
On November 25, 2020, Swedish company Enad Global 7 acquired Piranha Games for $31.4M CAD, the acquisition was finished on March 1, 2021.[ citation needed ]
Work began in earnest on DH:NP mid August 2000. The team doubled in size from six developers to twelve and moved into its new office location in Downtown Vancouver. Production on DH:NP moved along steadily through the winter and into 2001 in preparation for E3 2001. After a modest E3 showing, DH:NP continued development, targeting a fall release date. Crunching hard for the next 6 months, with the team exhausted and the ownership at odds with each other, the game's ship date slipped into spring 2002. During the summer and fall of 2001, Jason Holtslander was bought out by the remaining principals.[ citation needed ]
With the departure of Holtslander, Piranha refocused its energy towards finishing DH:NP and expanding the business into the casual space through the creation of a new label and company called Jarhead Games. In the spring of 2002 DH:NP was released.
In the summer of 2005 Piranha Games began working on an unannounced next generation title which was later revealed to be a new Mechwarrior game. [4] In the spring of 2007, Piranha Games was contracted to work on EA Playground for the Nintendo DS and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for the PSP. Piranha Games has also worked with Gearbox Software to develop the PS3 [5] and Xbox 360 versions of Duke Nukem Forever , along with the multiplayer [6] component.
In 2011, after failing to work with former rights holders Smith & Tinker to fund a new MechWarrior game, Piranha Games bought the rights to the series from them. [7]
After a lengthy period without news regarding the new MechWarrior game, Piranha announced that the game, after some 'false starts', had become MechWarrior Online, and had been transformed into a mech-based MMO. MechWarrior Online ended Closed Beta phase in 2012, and officially launched following an Open Beta in fall of 2013 to mediocre reviews from critics, and poor reception with fans of the franchise. [8]
PGI continues live iterative development of Mechwarrior Online. On December 5, 2016, Piranha announced their development of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, a single-purchase single player campaign title for the franchise using the Unreal 4 engine, with a playable demo due to be rolled out at the company's annual Vancouver Mech-Con event in December 2017 [9] and full release rescheduled for September 2019 (Originally December 2018). [10]
On July 25, 2019, it was announced that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries would be delayed again with a launch date of December 10, 2019. The game would also be an Epic Games Store exclusive for 1 year., [11] Although it was also released for Xbox Game Pass.
Year | Title | Platforms | Publisher | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza | Windows | Sierra Entertainment/Vivendi Universal Games | |
2007 | Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 | PSP | Electronic Arts | PSP version only |
2008 | Need for Speed: Undercover | PSP | Electronic Arts | |
2009 | Bass Pro Shops: The Strike | Windows, Xbox 360, Wii | XS Games/Psyclone | |
2010 | Bass Pro Shops: The Hunt | Windows, Xbox 360, Wii | XS Games | |
2011 | Duke Nukem Forever | Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, macOS | 2K Games | Additional development |
Days of Thunder | PS3, Xbox 360 | Paramount Digital Entertainment/505 Games | ||
2013 | MechWarrior Online | Windows | Piranha Games/Infinite Game Publishing | |
2019 | MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries | Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Piranha Games | |
2024 | MechWarrior 5: Clans | Piranha Games |
BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark is currently owned by Topps and, for video games, Microsoft Gaming; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.
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MechCommander is a real-time tactics video game based on FASA's BattleTech/MechWarrior franchise, developed by FASA Interactive and distributed by MicroProse in 1998. An expansion pack, Desperate Measures, was released in 1999.
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a platform game developed by Sunstorm Interactive, produced by 3D Realms, and published by Arush Entertainment. It was released on Microsoft Windows on May 14, 2002, in North America and on June 14, 2002, in Europe. A port of the game would be released for the Xbox 360 on June 23, 2010, by 3D Realms directly, followed by an iOS port on January 9, 2014.
MechWarrior: Dark Age was a tabletop wargame by WizKids set in the BattleTech universe that uses the Clix system. The game's miniatures are pre-painted models of infantry squads, vehicles, and giant walking war machines known as BattleMechs or more simply "'mechs".
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MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf is a 2004 video game developed by Day 1 Studios and FASA Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for the Xbox console, and set in the BattleTech universe. Development of MechAssault 2 was announced shortly following the release of MechAssault, with the developers focusing on the expansion of online and networking features to capitalise upon the success of the original game as a pilot title for the Xbox Live online service, and creating a more open-ended gameplay style in which players are able to exit their mech and occupy multiple vehicles.
MechWarrior is the second video game released in the BattleTech game series. MechWarrior was the first video game to offer the player a chance to pilot a BattleMech from the view of a pilot. With this game the player has a great deal of freedom when compared to many of the follow-up MechWarrior games, which include choosing missions, buying & selling mechs and parts, hiring lance-mates, and traveling throughout the Inner Sphere. Underneath the major game mechanics, the player had the option of following a role playing style story arc that would unfold over five in-game years.
MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries is a vehicle simulation video game for Microsoft Windows, released in 2002. It is a standalone expansion of MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, based on the BattleTech/MechWarrior game universe. The game was developed by Cyberlore in tandem with FASA Studio. This studio would also be responsible for MechWarrior 4's previous expansion, Black Knight - as well as both the InnerSphere and Clan Mech Packs.
MechWarrior, known in Japan as BattleTech (バトルテック), is a first-person action video game for the Super NES set in the BattleTech universe. The SNES game was based upon the original PC MechWarrior, with updated graphics that utilized Mode 7 for the Battlemech mission sequences instead of the PC version's flat-shaded 3D graphics.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is a video game released in September 1996 as a stand-alone expansion to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and the last BattleTech game made by Activision. In this game, the player takes control of an Inner Sphere mercenary squad, with control over finances and free choice of missions.
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BattleTech is a mech turn-based strategy video game developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released on macOS and Windows on April 24, 2018, with a Linux release on November 27, 2018. The developers set aside US$1 million to create the game, and turned to Kickstarter to secure funding for additional features, including a single player campaign, an expansion of that campaign, and a player versus player multiplayer mode.
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MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a BattleTech mecha game developed by Piranha Games released on December 10, 2019, on Microsoft Windows. It is the first single player MechWarrior game since 2002. It was initially available as an Epic Games Store exclusive title, which, like other games with Epic Games Store exclusivity deals, was met with criticism. On May 7, 2020, it was made available through Xbox Game Pass for PC. On May 27, 2021, it was made available on additional platforms including Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Steam and GOG, in addition to the DLC pack Heroes of the Inner Sphere, Call to Arms, and Rise of Rasalhague. On PC, it features ray tracing as well as DLSS. The game has sold two million units as of October 2024. Piranha Games released a sequel, MechWarrior 5: Clans, on October 16, 2024.
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