| Industry | Computer and video game industry |
|---|---|
| Fate | Publishing label of Nordic Games GmbH |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder(s) | Richard Wah Kan |
| Defunct | 2011 |
| Products | Painkiller, Dungeon Lords, First Battalion, Cold War, Dunes of War |
| Owner(s) | Independent (1996–2006) JoWooD Productions (2006–2011) Nordic Games Holding (2011–present) |
| Parent | Nordic Games GmbH |
DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. (a.k.a. DreamCatcher Games) was a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based publisher of video games founded in 1996 by Richard Wah Kan. In 2006 the company became a subsidiary of JoWooD Productions. In 2011 the company went into administration along with its parent JoWooD and was purchased by Nordic Games Holding. The DreamCatcher Interactive brand is currently being used as a publishing label for Nordic Games GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games Holding.
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DreamCatcher Interactive was founded in 1996 in Toronto, Canada. The company’s first title was the adventure game Jewels of the Oracle, which achieved enough success to grow the retail business.[1] Dreamcatcher would later release The Crystal Key which sold over a half million units in North America.[2] Continuing the company's growth, in November 2000, DreamCatcher signed with Her Interactive to publish the Nancy Drew franchise.[3]
In late 2002, most of the assets and development teams of French based publisher, Cryo Interactive were absorbed by DreamCatcher Interactive, forming the base for DreamCatcher Europe including key offices and a large internal studio.[4] After the acquisition of Cryo Interactive, Dreamcatcher created a publishing division called The Adventure Company in early 2003. The company also partnered with both Wanadoo Edition and Microïds, as well as other studios in the development and distribution of games including Syberia, Still Life and ObsCure.[5] In 2005 the main Microïds studio was acquired by Ubisoft with Dreamcatcher retaining publishing rights to the games being created.[6]
The Adventure Company brand label under DreamCatcher has released many adventure game series' including series' based on Agatha Christie novels. They also recently signed to release a series of titles based on The Hardy Boys.[7] Outside of adventure gaming, DreamCatcher is best known for publishing the first-person shooter Painkiller developed with People Can Fly. Painkiller became a commercial success and was signed with the CPL World Tour 2005.[8] Dreamcatcher would also create another label, Silverline Software, around 2004 for the distribution of some non-core games and the publishing of utility software. Silverline Software would release the "Time to Ride" series of girl’s horse games starting in 2004, which would later be acquired by Ubisoft.
In 2006, JoWooD Productions announced the purchase of DreamCatcher Games as a way of increasing their presence into the North American gaming market in addition to acquiring the company's key titles and licenses.[9] Since the acquisition, DreamCatcher Games has continued to launch titles both under The Adventure Company and DreamCatcher labels including new games created by JoWooD like the SpellForce series. In 2011 JoWooD went into administration causing DreamCatcher to file for bankruptcy. In November 2011 Nordic Games Holding announced that they had acquired DreamCatcher Games and would be turning it into a publishing label of their subsidiary Nordic Games GmbH.[10] Nordic Games Holding had previously acquired JoWooD and The Adventure Company in August also turning both brands into publishing labels of Nordic Games GmbH.[11] Following the acquisition it was announced that business operations would be relocated to Vienna, Austria.[10]