HB Studios

This article is about the video game developer. For the New York performing arts school, see HB Studio.
HB Studios
Game Developer
Industry Interactive entertainment
Founded 2000
Headquarters Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada
Key people
Alan Bunker, CEO, Craig Heffler, CFO
Products see below
Number of employees
80+
Website www.hb-studios.com

HB Studios is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2000 and located in Nova Scotia, Canada. They are best known for their rugby and cricket games, released on the EA Sports label.

History

HB Studios was founded in 2000 by Jeremy Wellard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The company started with nine employees, and developed Cricket 2002 for Electronic Arts' Asia Pacific studio.[1]

In 2004, HB Studios entered a multi-project deal with EA Canada to develop further sports games for the EA Sports label, and created games including further games in the Rugby and Cricket series', FIFA Street 2 for the PlayStation Portable as well as co-development on Madden 07 for the Wii. The exclusivity deal ended in 2007,[2] after which the company was hired by THQ to create Big Beach Sports for the Wii. This was HB Studios' first non-sports simulation game and was the first game not developed for the EA Sports label.

In 2008, HB Studios opened a second studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia and grew to employ 130 people.[3]

A second label, HB Arcade, was formed in 2009, with the goal of self-publishing downloadable titles on WiiWare, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. Games released under this label included HB Arcade Cards and HB Arcade Disc Golf, both for the WiiWare platform, as well as Jam Space for DSiWare.[4]

In 2011, HB Studios developed Rugby World Cup 2011, a self-funded title published by 505 Games.[5] It was well-received, and entered the UK charts at No.3.[6]

At the end of July 2012 HB Studios closed their Halifax studio and consolidated all development to their headquarters in Lunenberg. The last games developed by the satellite studio were NBA Baller Beats for Kinect and Medal Bound on iOS.[7]

In January 2014, it was announced that HB's The Golf Club for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC would be launching in the Spring of 2014.[8] The game is a golf simulator that includes a Course Creator using procedural generation, allowing users to create, edit and share courses online. The game went to Steam Early Access in April 2014 with its full release coming in August 2014.

HB Studios' founder, Jeremy Wellard, announced he was stepping down as President of the company in February 2015 with COO Alan Bunker moving into the CEO role.[9]

Games Developed

List of games developed by HB Studios
Year Title Publisher Platform
2001 Cricket 2002 EA Sports PS2, PC
2003 Rugby 2004 EA Sports PS2, PC
2003 Cricket 2004 EA Sports PS2, PC
2003 Rugby 2004 EA Sports Xbox, PS2, PC
2005 Rugby 2005 EA Sports Xbox, PS2, PC
2005 Cricket 2005 EA Sports Xbox, PS2, PC
2006 FIFA Street 2 EA Sports PSP
2006 Rugby 2006 EA Sports Xbox, PS2, PC
2007 Cricket 07 EA Sports PS2, PC
2006 Madden NFL 07 EA Sports Wii
2007 UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 EA Sports PS2, PSP, PC
2007 NBA Live 08 EA Sports PS2, PC
2007 Rugby 08 EA Sports PS2, PC
2007 NHL 08 EA Sports PS2, PC
2008 Big Beach Sports THQ Wii
2008 NBA Live 09 EA Sports PS2, PSP, Wii
2008 NHL 09 EA Sports PS2,PC
2009 Rock Revolution Konami Wii
2009 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 EA Sports PSP, PS2
2009 Football Academy EA Sports Nintendo DS
2009 HB Arcade Cards HB Arcade WiiWare
2009 FIFA 10 EA Sports PC, PS2, PSP
2009 NBA Live 10 EA Sports PSP
2010 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa EA Sports Wii, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3
2010 FIFA 11 Ultimate Team EA Sports Xbox 360, PS3
2010 Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers Wii, Xbox 360, PC
2010 FIFA 11 EA Sports PSP, PS2
2010 HB Arcade Disc Golf HB Arcade WiiWare
2010 Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush Wii, 360, PC
2010 HB Arcade Jam Space HB Arcade DSiWare
2011 Rugby World Cup 2011 505 Games PS3, Xbox 360
2011 Madden NFL 12 EA Sports Wii, PSP, PS2
2011 HB Rugby: Fixture Challenge HB Studios iOS
2012 FIFA 12 EA Sports Wii
2012 Medal Bound HB Studios iOS
2012 NBA Baller Beats Majesco Entertainment Kinect
2012 Madden NFL 13 Majesco Entertainment Vita, Wii
2012 Maze Adventures HB Studios iPad
2012 Ace Geographer: Canada HB Studios iPad
2013 MLB.com Home Run Derby MLB.com iOS, Android
2013 MLB.com Franchise MVP MLB.com iOS, Android
2014 MLB.com Home Run Derby 2014 MLB.com iOS, Android
2014 The Golf Club HB Studios PS4, PC, Xbox One
2014 Rugby 15 HB Studios PS4, PC, Xbox One

Games Contributed To

References

External links