Great gaming studios that shut their doors

Neversoft is no more.

The studio, which is wholly owned by the publishing and development monster that is Activision, was officially merged with Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward last week – ending a 20 year run.

Neversoft was founded in 1994 and, after joining Activision in 1998, became synonymous with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series (released in 1999), and eventually Guitar Hero as well.

The studio was a household name for gamers at the turn of the millennium, and has now joined a number of studios firmly in the hallowed halls of nostalgia.

Let’s take a sombre stroll through these halls.

For all the kids who grew up in the 80s and 90s with gaming as their favourite pastime, these were the game developers that gave us “the classics”.

Many of the minds behind these studios have moved on, been bought up, dissolved (into other studios, not in acid), had a resurgence, or were outright fired. But no matter where they are now, though, I think we can all agree they made gaming great.

Admittedly, those were simpler times.

Black Isle [1996 – 2003]

Black Isle technically still exists.

The development studio behind the masterful Planscape: Torment and Fallout 2 was an in-house development studio of Interplay Entertainment, founded in 1996.

Interplay (which was co-founded by Brian Fargo of Wasteland fame) faced many financial difficulties, and Black Isle suffered accordingly.

The studio was in the process of developing Fallout 3 and Baldur’s Gate III at the time of its closure in 2003; projects which landed in the hands of Bethesda (or simply disappeared, in the case of Baldur’s Gate).

The studio was apparently restarted in 2012 to work on Project v13 – a code name for Fallout Online – but after a lengthy legal battle with Bethesda, there’s been no word on what the studio is up to.

Popularising shades of brown even before the seventh generation of gaming

LucasArts [1982 – 2012]

LucasArts was the tragic victim of an acquisition of George Lucas’s Lucasfilms by Walt Disney.

The studio was founded in 1982 and brought us a plethora of legendary adventure games, including Maniac Mansion, Sam & Max, Monkey Island, and, of course, Grim Fandango.

The studio also developed and published tons of games based in the Star Wars universe.

Disney bought the studio in 2012, and effectively shut it down and laid off its staff, ending an epic 30 year streak of greatness.

Ex-LucasArts game devs have gained some prominence after leaving, though, with studios such as Double Fine and Telltale born from the ashes.

Sierra [1979 – 2008]

If you played a Quest game in the 80s and 90s, Sierra was undoubtedly a star in your collection.

Some names you may recall include Quest for Glory, Police Quest, Space Quest (with Roger Wilco), King’s Quest, and the loveable Leisure Suit Larry.

The studio was founded in 1979 (!) and continued to produce its core games right up until 1999, when financial troubles hit and teams were laid off.

The studio then partnered with Vivendi Universal and continued to help produce titles under the brand until it was sold to Activision in 2008.

Activision shut the studio down for good.

*Sighs nostalgically*

Bullfrog [1987 – 2004]

Before making and failing to deliver on huge promises, Peter Molyneux was a co-founder of the studio which brought us many much-loved classics.

Bullfrog Entertainment was founded in 1987 and gave us Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, and Populous.

The studio was snapped up by Electronic Arts in 1995 – leaving Molyneux to depart and form LionHead Studios which went on to start the Fable series.

EA merged the studio with EA UK in 2004, effectively closing it down.

Which of your favourite game developers no longer exist? What were some of the classics they produced? Let us know in the comments and forum.

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