Raven Software
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary of Activision |
|---|---|
| Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Key people |
Brian Raffel (founder) Steve Raffel (co-founder) |
| Products | Video games |
| Owner(s) | Activision Blizzard |
| Parent | Activision |
| Website | ravensoftware.com |
Raven Software (or Raven Entertainment Software, Inc.) is an American video game developing company based in Wisconsin and founded in 1990. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, much of the studio's original developers, largely responsible for creating the Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic games, left to form Human Head Studios.
History
Raven Software was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. The company was independent until 1997 when it looked for a buyer; eventually being bought by Activision due to their happiness to leave the studio relatively untouched. When Raven Software were acquired they lost many employees unhappy with the acquisition.[1]
Raven has a history of working with id Software: After using id's engines for many of their games (from Heretic in 1994), they took over development of id's Quake franchise for Quake 4 and the new iteration of id's Wolfenstein series.[2]
The company started off with three development teams, cut to two from the major layoffs, of 30-35 staff, which occurred in August 2009 following the poor performance and possible over-budget of Wolfenstein.[3][4] The amount of teams reduced to one as a result of more layoffs in October 2010 after delays with Singularity in which as many as 40 staff were released.[5][6]
Games
On April 3, 2013 following the closure of LucasArts, Raven Software released the source codes for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy on Kotaku.[7]
In 2012, Raven began hiring employees for a next generation game,[8] and were announced as collaborating with Infinity Ward on Call of Duty: Ghosts in May 2013.[9]
Games developed
| Year | Game | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Black Crypt | Amiga |
| 1993 | Shadowcaster | DOS |
| 1994 | CyClones | |
| Heretic | MS-DOS, Mac OS | |
| 1995 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 |
| 1996 | Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders | DOS, Microsoft Windows |
| Deathkings of the Dark Citadel | DOS, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh | |
| Necrodome | Microsoft Windows | |
| 1997 | Mageslayer | |
| Take No Prisoners | ||
| Hexen II | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh | |
| 1998 | Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus | Microsoft Windows |
| Heretic II | Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS, Mac OS, Mac OS X, Linux | |
| 2000 | Soldier of Fortune | Microsoft Windows, Linux, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast |
| Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS | |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force: Virtual Voyager | Microsoft Windows |
| 2002 | Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix | ||
| 2003 | Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy | |
| 2004 | X-Men Legends | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2005 | X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse | |
| Quake 4 | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Xbox 360 | |
| 2006 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance | PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Wolfenstein | ||
| 2010 | Singularity | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops (DLC, user interface)[10] | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 | |
| 2011 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (DLC, user interface)[10] | |
| 2013 | Call of Duty: Ghosts (Multiplayer)[11] | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One |
References
- ↑ "Lessons Learned from Raven Software". Edge. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "id Software and Activision, Inc. Confirm Wolfenstein(R) for the Xbox 360 Video Game and Entertainment System". PR Newswire. 2005-10-05.
- ↑ Ivan, Tom. "Raven Software Hit By Layoffs".
- ↑ Crecente, Brian (26 August 2009). "Raven Hit By Layoffs, Some Point to Lackluster Wolfenstein Sales". Kotaku. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ "Raven Software loses more staff".
- ↑ Crecente, Brian (11 October 2010). "Singularity Game Developer Hit with Layoffs". Kotaku. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ Hinkle, David (4 April 2013). "Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy source code released". Joystiq. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ Hinkle, David (2 November 2012). "Raven job listings suggest next-gen game in the works". Joystiq. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ Pitcher, Jenna (May 22, 2013). "Raven Software and Neversoft assisted Infinity Ward in Call of Duty: Ghosts development". Polygon. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 gamerzines (2011-07-20). "Infinity Ward clarifies Raven's involvement with CoD franchise". gamerzines.com.
- ↑ Conklin, Aaron K. (October 31, 2013). "Raven Software revolutionizes multiplayer gaming with Call of Duty: Ghosts". The Daily Page. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
External links
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