Empire Interactive
 | |
| Defunct | |
| Industry | Interactive entertainment |
| Fate | Administration |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Ian Higgins and Simon Jeffrey[1] |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Silverstar Holdings (2006-2009) |
| Subsidiaries | Xplosiv |
Empire Interactive was a British video game developer and publisher founded in 1987. It went out of business in 2009.
About the company
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.[2] 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.[3] New World IP then leased the rights to publish Empires entire catalogue to Zoo Games.[4]
Xplosiv
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.[5]
Xplosiv also planned to enter USA market in 2005.[6]
Games
Games published and/or developed by Empire include:
- 911: First Responders
- Animal Paradise
- Animal Paradise 2
- Big Mutha Truckers
- Coala
- Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
- Double Dragon (XBLA version)
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
- DreamWeb
- FlatOut series
- Flying Corps Gold
- Ford Racing
- Ford Racing 2
- Ford Racing 3
- Ford Street Racing
- Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
- Ghost Master
- Go Go Copter
- Hanna Barbera's Turbo Toons
- International Cricket Captain
- Jackass: The Game (PS2, PSP and DS versions)
- Jacked
- Harvest Moon Online
- Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (DS)
- Hot Wheels: Beat That! (Unpublished)
- Mashed (aka. Drive To Survive)
- Pro Pinball Series
- Sheep
- Spin Jam (PS1)
- Starsky & Hutch
- Starship Troopers
- Stars!
- Speedball
- Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
- Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory
- Taito Legends Special Edited (WII)
- Taito Legends 2 Special Edited (WII)
- Team Yankee and its sequels Pacific Islands and War in the Gulf
- The Civil War
- The Longest Journey
- Total Immersion Racing
- Unsolved Crimes (DS)
- Volfied
- Warrior Kings: Battles
- Yogi Bear's Cartoon Capers
References
- ↑ "Empire Interactive Europe Ltd". MobyGames. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ↑ Empire Interactive information from IGN
- ↑ Empire IP Rights Sold As 49 Staff Made Redundant from GamesIndustry.biz
- ↑ Graft, Kris (7 May 2009). "Zoo Publishing Picks Up Empire Slate". Gamasutra. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
- ↑ XPLOSIV INVADES RETAIL WITH IT’S 250TH TITLE!
- ↑ Xplosive - About Us