Avalanche Software is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in October 1995 by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn, who is chief executive officer. The studio was acquired by the games arm of The Walt Disney Company in May 2005, and spent the next ten years developing Disney-related titles, including the toys-to-life game Disney Infinity (2013). In May 2016, due to a declining toys-to-life games market, Disney decided to close the games arm, including Avalanche. Warner Bros. Games acquired the studio and re-opened it in January 2017.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | October 1995 |
| Founder | John Blackburn |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | John Blackburn (CEO) |
| Parent |
|
| Website | avalanchesoftware.com |
History
editAvalanche Software was founded by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn.[1][2] After Sculptured Software had been acquired by Acclaim Entertainment, the four had been in contact with another former Sculptured Software staffer who left the year prior for Saffire. The four were interested in joining Saffire, which was seeking programmers for an upcoming project, but did not want to commute to the company's offices in Pleasant Grove. Instead, Saffire's owner convinced them to start their own company.[3] Subsequently, Blackburn and his acquaintances established Avalanche in October 1995, with Blackburn becoming the company's president.[1]
On April 19, 2005, Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, announced that it had acquired Avalanche for an undisclosed price.[4] Buena Vista Games established a sister studio to Avalanche, Fall Line Studio, in November 2006.[5] The studio was merged into Avalanche in January 2009.[6] In January 2013, Avalanche unveiled the toys-to-life cross-platform game Disney Infinity.[7] On May 10, 2016, due to a lack of growth in the toys-to-life market and increasing development costs, Disney discontinued Disney Infinity and closed down Disney Interactive Studios, including Avalanche.[8] Many former Avalanche workers were hired by castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.[9]
On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Games) announced that it had acquired and re-opened the studio, with Blackburn returning as its chief executive officer. The studio's first title under the new ownership was Cars 3: Driven to Win.[10]
Hogwarts Legacy was released in 2023 as Avalanche's first[clarification needed] independent game since it was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. The open-world action role-playing game was published by the publisher Portkey Games, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Games. The game was officially announced as part of the PlayStation 5 Showcase on September 16, 2020 and was subsequently named "Star of the Evening" by the daily newspaper Die Welt.[11][12] It has been released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.[13]
Games developed
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Kratz, Greg (April 20, 2005). "Disney branch buys Salt Lake game developer". Deseret News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Avalanche Software Biography". Avalanche Software. 2001. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001.
- ^ Sheehan, Gavin (August 17, 2011). "Avalanche Software". Salt Lake City Weekly. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Disney to make Nintendo games". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 29, 2009). "Disney layoffs hit Turok, Bolt studios". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Lang, Derrik J. (January 15, 2013). "Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise". Phys.org. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (May 10, 2016). "Disney is ending its Infinity video game line, shutting down Avalanche Software". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Conditt, Jessica (September 15, 2016). "Augmented reality studio castAR picks up 'Disney Infinity' devs". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ McAloon, Alissa (January 24, 2017). "Disney Infinity dev revived and re-opened by Warner Bros". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ Gehm, Florian (September 17, 2020). "PlayStation 5 Showcase: Hogwarts Legacy ist der Star der Sony-Präsentation". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Uslenghi, Fabiano; Zirkler, Dennis (September 17, 2020). "Harry Potter: Open-World-Rollenspiel Hogwarts Legacy kommt für den PC". GameStar (in German). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (September 16, 2020). "Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy Announced, Confirmed for PS5". IGN. Retrieved September 17, 2020.