| Former type | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Industry | Interactive entertainment |
| Fate | Administration |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | [1] |
Empire Interactive was a UK based video game developer and publisher founded in 1987. It was closed under administration on 4 May 2009.
Contents |
Empire Interactive was a publisher of interactive entertainment software for 22 years. Headquartered in the UK, they also had offices in the U.S., Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The company developed and published a varied range of titles for all contemporary platforms in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Games such as Starsky & Hutch, Big Mutha Truckers, Ford Racing and FlatOut were some of their major successes.[1] They also operated the "Xplosiv" and "eJay" imprints, focusing on budget titles and music creation tools respectively.
After struggling financially for several years, they were purchased by Silverstar Holdings in 2006 and became a wholly owned subsidiary. On 4 May 2009 it was announced that the company had gone into administration (bankruptcy) and would be shutting down permanently. Their intellectual properties were sold to New World IP of the United States and all 49 staff were laid off.[2] New World IP then leased the rights to publish Empires entire catalogue to Zoo Games.[3]
Xplosiv, established in January 2000, was Empire Interactive's publishing label for budget or rerelease games by Empire themselves or contracted third parties. Empire positioned the published titles with price points of £9.99 and £4.99 in 2001, and in late 2002 added PlayStation 2 titles into the range, at £9.99 and £19.99.[4]
Xplosiv also planned to enter USA market in 2005.[5]
Games published and/or developed by Empire include: