Eden Games

Last updated
Eden Games SA
FormerlyEden Studios (1998–2002)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
Founded4 January 1998 (1998-01-04)
Founders
  • David Nadal
  • Jean Yves Geffroy
Headquarters,
Key people
David Nadal (CEO)
Number of employees
15
Parent
Atari SA (2002–2013)
Website www.edengames.com

Eden Games SA (formerly known as Eden Studios) is a French video game developer based in Lyon, France, that mainly focuses on the development of racing video games.

Contents

History

The company was formed as a development group within Infogrames' European subsidiary Infogrames Multimedia, which had developed the first V-Rally for the PlayStation. The studio would later rebrand into its own separate studio, known as Eden Studios, with Infogrames holding a 19.2% minority share.

In April 2002, Infogrames fully acquired Eden Studios. [1] During this period, the company would continue develop racing games such as Test Drive Unlimited and its sequel, Test Drive Unlimited 2 , while also venturing into other game genres with games like Kya: Dark Lineage .

Atari announced that throughout April 2011, they had laid off over 51 of the 80 employees working at the studio, leading to a majority of the employees going on strike. [2] In April 2012, Eden began negotiations as an attempt to separate from Atari. [3] On 29 January 2013 the studio filed for judicial liquidation. [4]

On 31 October 2013, under the impulsion of former employees and with the financing of ID Invest and Monster Capital, Eden Games reopened as an independent game development studio without any involvement of Atari. The company then released its first game, GT Spirit, on Apple TV in December 2015. The game was later followed up with Gear.Club and two Nintendo Switch versions - Gear.Club Unlimited and Gear.Club Unlimited 2.

From 2017 to 2021, the company was a subsidiary of Engine Media. [5]

In April 2022, Eden Games were acquired by the Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming company, Animoca Brands. [5] According to Animoca, the Eden team will be integrated into their business and work on blockchain-based racing games and contribute to Animoca's existing titles build around its REVV crypto token. [5]

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)
As Eden Studios
1998 V-Rally Edition '99 Nintendo 64
1999 V-Rally 2 Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation
2000 Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed PlayStation
2002 V-Rally 3 GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
As Eden Games
2003 Kya: Dark Lineage PlayStation 2
2004Titeuf: Méga compet'Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2
2006 Test Drive Unlimited Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
2008 Alone in the Dark Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2011 Test Drive Unlimited 2
2015GT Spirit Apple TV
2016Gear.Club iOS, Android, Amazon Appstore
2017 Gear.Club Unlimited Nintendo Switch
2018Gear.Club Unlimited 2 [6]
2018F1 Mobile Racing iOS, Android
2019Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Porsche Edition Nintendo Switch
2020Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Tracks Edition Nintendo Switch
2021Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch
2021Gear.Club Unlimited 2: Ultimate Edition PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows
2022Gear.Club Stradale [7] Apple Arcade
2022Smurfs Kart [8] Nintendo Switch

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari</span> Video gaming brand

Atari is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French company Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, USA in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accolade (company)</span> American video game company

Accolade, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Jose, California. The company was founded as Accolade in 1984 by Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activision in 1979. The company became known for numerous sports game series, including HardBall!, Jack Nicklaus and Test Drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beam Software</span> Former Australian video game developer

Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software, was an Australian video game development studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen and based in Melbourne, Australia. Initially formed to produce books and software to be published by Melbourne House, a company they had established in London in 1977, the studio operated independently from 1987 until 1999, when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.. In 2006 the studio was sold to Krome Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gremlin Interactive</span> British software developer

Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in the 1980s, their primary market was the 8-bit range of computers such as the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64. The company was acquired by French video game publisher Infogrames in 1999 and was renamed Infogrames Studios in 2000. Infogrames Studios closed down in 2003.

<i>V-Rally</i> (video game) 1997 video game

V-Rally is a racing video game developed by Infogrames Multimedia and released for the PlayStation console in 1997. The first game in the V-Rally series, it is based on the 1997 and 1998 World Rally Championship seasons, and features officially licensed cars and tracks inspired by real locations of rally events. Players drive rally cars through a series of stages spread over eight different locations, ranging from European countries like England, Spain or Sweden, to island countries such as Indonesia and New Zealand. As a simulation game, V-Rally places a strong emphasis on replicating the behavior physics of real cars and generally requires more practice than arcade-style racers.

<i>Test Drive Unlimited</i> 2006 video game

Test Drive Unlimited is a 2006 racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Atari for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Atari Melbourne House developed the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions. Being the eighteenth entry in the Test Drive series, Unlimited serves as a reboot of the franchise, discarding the continuity of the previous games. The game features over 125 licensed sports cars and motorcycles and the terrain is modeled after the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu that features over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of roads and highways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandai Namco Holdings</span> Japanese entertainment holding company

Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. is a Japanese entertainment holding company founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specializes in toys, video games, arcades, anime, restaurants, and amusement parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradigm Entertainment</span> American video game development company

Paradigm Entertainment Inc. was an American video game development company. Paradigm is perhaps best known for its vehicle simulation games. Founded as a 3D computer graphics company in 1990, Paradigm primarily worked on realistic flight simulation technology for major space and aviation clients. The company got its start in game development when it was contacted by Nintendo in 1994 to aid in the creation of one of the Nintendo 64's launch titles, Pilotwings 64. The game was a critical and commercial success for the developer, causing the simulation and entertainment divisions of Paradigm to separate and focus on their respective products. The newly independent Paradigm Entertainment continued to develop for Nintendo's 64-bit console. After a short partnership with Video System, Paradigm was acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames in 2000 and began developing games for sixth-generation video game consoles. Paradigm was sold to THQ in 2006 and was ultimately closed in 2008.

<i>V-Rally 3</i> 2002 video game

V-Rally 3 is a racing video game developed by Eden Studios and published by Infogrames Europe. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance platforms in 2002, and ported to the Xbox, GameCube, and Microsoft Windows in 2003.

Test Drive is a series of racing video games that were originally published by Accolade until they were bought by Infogrames, the first game was released in 1987 and has since been followed by several sequels and spin-offs, the last of which was released in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humongous Entertainment</span> American video game developer (1992-2006)

Humongous Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Founded in 1992, the company is best known for developing multiple edutainment franchises, most prominently Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam and Spy Fox, which, combined, sold over 15 million copies and earned more than 400 awards of excellence.

Atari, Inc. is an American subsidiary and publishing arm of Atari SA. Formed in 1993 as GT Interactive Software Corp., the video game publishing arm of GoodTimes Home Video, the company was subsequently majority acquired by Infogrames in 1999, and later renamed to Infogrames, Inc. As part of Infogrames's company-wide re-branding following its 2001 acquisition of Hasbro Interactive, which owned the rights to the Atari brand, Infogrames, Inc. became known as Atari, Inc. in May 2003. On October 11, 2008, Infogrames completed its acquisition of Atari, Inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari Interactive</span> American video game production and publishing company

Atari Interactive, Inc. is an American subsidiary of Atari SA, formerly known as Infogrames Entertainment SA. The company was originally founded by toy company Hasbro in 1995 as Hasbro Interactive, and was sold to Infogrames at the beginning of 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylotonn</span> French video game development studio

Kylotonn SARL is a French video game development studio founded in 2006 in Paris. They are best known for their racing games, and were the official developer of the World Rally Championship video game series from 2015 to 2023.

<i>Test Drive 2001</i> 2000 video game

Test Drive 2001 is a racing video game developed by American studio Xantera and published by Infogrames exclusively for Game Boy Color. The game is more or less a sequel to the Game Boy Color version of Test Drive 6. It is the last game in the series to be available on Game Boy Color, and the last on a Nintendo platform in general until the upcoming release of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.

Atari SA is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive.

Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd. is a Hong Kong-based game software company and venture capital company co-founded in 2014 by Yat Siu and David Kim. The company initially focused on developing mobile games, then shifted to blockchain gaming and NFTs in 2018.

Nacon is a French video game company based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for various platforms. In 2020, Bigben Group was consolidated to form Nacon.

<i>Gear.Club Unlimited</i> 2017 racing video game for Nintendo Switch

Gear.Club Unlimited is a racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Microïds for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on November 21, 2017 in North America, in Europe on December 1, 2017, and in Japan on December 14, 2017. It is an expanded version of the iOS/Android mobile game Gear.Club.

References

  1. "Infogrames Acquires Eden Studios". IGN . April 10, 2002. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. Maria Kalash et Netsabes, Le Salaire du labeur, 15 février 2018, Canard PC n°375.
  3. "Atari se sépare d'Eden Games". Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  4. "EDEN GAMES (LYON 3EME) Chiffre d'affaires, résultat, bilans sur SOCIETE.COM - 414659607". www.societe.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  5. 1 2 3 "Eden Games acquired by blockchain company". GamesIndustry.biz. 12 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  6. Craddock, Ryan (August 16, 2018). "Gear.Club Unlimited 2 Revealed Exclusively For Nintendo Switch". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  7. "Apple Arcade exclusive Gear.Club Stradale reminds us of Test Drive Unlimited". 14 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  8. "Test Drive Unlimited Developer Announces Racing Game Set in Smurfs' Universe". 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.