JoWooD Entertainment

JoWooD Entertainment AG
Formerly called
  • JoWooD Productions Software GmbH (1995–2000)
  • JoWooD Productions Software AG (2000–09)
Public
Industry Video game industry
Fate Bankruptcy, assets and property sold to THQ Nordic
Founded 1995 (1995)
Founders
  • Andreas Tobler
  • Hans Schilcher
Defunct 2011 (2011)
Headquarters Rottenmann, Austria
Products
Parent Nordic Games
Subsidiaries DreamCatcher Interactive
Website jowood.com

JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games.

Their games include the futuristic racing car game Beam Breakers which was released in 2002, action role-playing games in the Gothic series, the Spellforce series, and the Industry Giant series of games. Other titles include Transport Giant, World War III: Black Gold, The Sting!, Hotel Giant, and other games of the Giants series. They also released Sam & Max and Neighbours from Hell. They also worked on AquaNox: Angel's Tears for the PlayStation 2.

History

JoWooD Productions Software AG was founded in 1995 in Ebensee by Dieter Bernauer, Johann Reitinger, Johann Schilcher, and Andreas Tobler with its headquarters later moved to Liezen, Austria. It owned five subsidiaries in the last years: DreamCatcher Interactive, JoWooD Distribution Services, JoWooD Deutschland, JoWooD Iberica and Quantic Lab.

In August 2005, JoWooD attempted to end their development agreement with developer Perception Pty because of a lack of quality on their "Stargate SG-1" product.[1] JoWooD carried out this action believing they owned the licence for the game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, which was disputed by Perception.[2] On 4 November 2006, JoWooD announced the acquisition of DreamCatcher Games, in efforts to move to the North American gaming markets.[3] In October 2009, JoWooD changed its name from JoWooD Productions Software AG to JoWooD Entertainment AG.[4] At the same time, JoWood also announced an agreement with Valve Corporation to make available future JoWooD titles on Steam.[4]

On 7 January 2011, JoWooD officially filed for bankruptcy and announced that the company would prepare for "a procedure of capital reorganization".[5] However, on 21 April 2011, JoWooD announced that, unable to negotiate with potential investors, they were officially facing bankruptcy proceedings and had withdrawn their application for a recapitalization plan.[6] In June 2011, JoWooD Entertainment all their assets and its subsidiary, Quantic Lab, was acquired by Nordic Games. From this point on, JoWooD was no longer operating. All activities of the two companies were taken over by Nordic Games.[7] On 16 August 2011, Nordic Games announced that it had acquired JoWooD's products and brands and some of the companies labels, including The Adventure Company.[8] Following the acquisition it was announced that JoWood and the Adventure Company would become publishing labels for Nordic Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games.[9]

In 2014 the company Touchit Studio entered into a partnership with JoWooD Entertainment, and rewriting all the rights of the game Neighbours From Hell in the distribution and editing in the Company Touchit Studio.

Touchit Studio was founded in Germany in the year 2009 by programmer and teacher John Doe.

Games published

Title Release date Platform(s) Developer(s)
Industry Giant 14 April 1998 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Alien Nations[10] 11 May 1999 Microsoft Windows Neo Software
Panzer Elite 26 October 1999 [11] Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Thandor: The Invasion 1 December 2000 Microsoft Windows Innonics
Traffic Giant 28 February 2001 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
The Nations 15 June 2001 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
The Sting! 1 July 2001 Microsoft Windows Neo Software
Zax: The Alien Hunter 9 October 2001 Microsoft Windows Reflexive Entertainment
S.W.I.N.E. [12] 25 October 2001 Microsoft Windows StormRegion
Rally Trophy 20 November 2001 Microsoft Windows Bugbear Entertainment
AquaNox 30 November 2001 Microsoft Windows Massive Development
Hard Truck 2: King of the Road 7 June 2002 [13] Microsoft Windows SoftLab-NSK
Arx Fatalis 28 June 2002 Microsoft Windows Arkane Studios
23 December 2003 Xbox Wizarbox
Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard [14] 26 August 2002 Microsoft Windows Funatics Development GmbH
Michael Schumacher Racing World Kart 2002 18 September 2002 Microsoft Windows Radon Labs
PlayStation
Industry Giant II 30 September 2002 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Beam Breakers 10 October 2002 Microsoft Windows Similis Software GmbH
Archangel 18 October 2002 Microsoft Windows Metropolis Software
Europa 1400: The Guild 25 October 2002 Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
The Nations Nations Gold Edition / The Nations 2 16 November 2002 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Gothic II 29 November 2002 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
K-Hawk: Survival Instinct [15] 10 December 2002 Microsoft Windows Similis Software GmbH
Cold Zero: The Last Stand 13 April 2003 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Neighbours from Hell 20 June 2003 [16] Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Relativity Play
4 March 2005 GameCube
Xbox
Gothic II: Night of the Raven - Expansion Pack 22 August 2003 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
AquaNox 2: Revelation 22 August 2003 Microsoft Windows Massive Development
Chaser 30 August 2003 Microsoft Windows Cauldron
Cold Zero: No Mercy [17] 22 October 2003 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Railroad Pioneer [18] 29 October 2003 [19] Microsoft Windows Kritzelkratz 3000
Silent Storm 31 October 2003 [20] Microsoft Windows Nival Interactive
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn 28 November 2003 [21] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Söldner: Secret Wars 27 May 2004 Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Transport Giant 8 June 2004 [22] Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
SpellForce: Breath of Winter - Expansion Pack 24 June 2004 [23] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
SpellForce: The Shadow of the Phoenix - Expansion Pack November 2004 [24] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Söldner: Secret Wars Reloaded 11 November 2004 Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Söldner: Marine Corps - Expansion Pack 25 February 2005 [25] Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation 27 March 2006 [26] Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Relativity Play
iOS
Android
Legend of Kay [27] 2 March 2005 PlayStation 2 Neon Studios
SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars 20 April 2006 Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
The Guild 2 [28] 29 September 2006 Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Gothic 3 [29] 13 October 2006 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
Freak Out: Extreme Freeride 30 March 2007 [30] PlayStation 2 ColdWood Interactive
28 August 2007 Microsoft Windows
SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm 14 May 2007 [31] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
The Guild 2 - Pirates of The European Sea - Stand-alone expansion pack [32][33] 18 May 2007 [34] Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Space Force: Rogue Universe 5 June 2007 [35] Microsoft Windows Provox Games
SpellForce Universe Edition - Collection pack [36] 15 October 2007 Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Gothic Universe Edition - Collection pack [37] 15 October 2007 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
Painkiller: Overdose 30 October 2007 Microsoft Windows Mindware Studios
Gothic 3: The Beginning 15 January 2008 Java ME Handy-Games GmbH
The Golden Horde [38] 28 March 2008 Microsoft Windows World Forge
Painkiller Universe - Collection Pack [39] 8 July 2008 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
The Guild 2 - Venice - Stand-alone Expansion Pack 7 October 2008 Microsoft Windows Trine Games [40]
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods - Expansion Pack 21 November 2008 Microsoft Windows Trine Games
Mad Vulture Games
Painkiller: Resurrection 27 October 2009 Microsoft Windows HomeGrown Games
Yoga for Wii 27 November 2009 Nintendo Wii Trine Games
Torchlight [41] 9 April 2010 Microsoft Windows Runic Games
Arcania: Gothic 4 12 October 2010 Microsoft Windows Spellbound Entertainment
Xbox 360 Black Forest Games
September 2011 PlayStation 3
The Guild 2 - Renaissance - Stand-alone expanded edition 19 October 2010 [42] Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Painkiller: Redemption 25 February 2011 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny 19 June 2012 Microsoft Windows Trine Games [40]
Mind Over Matter[43]

References

  1. ↑ Jowood Terminates Development Agreement with Perception - PC News at GameSpot
  2. ↑ "Video Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, Reviews, News & Videos - IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Aktuelle Aussendungen". euro adhoc - IR-Kommunikation. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Rietumu Guide". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  5. ↑ GameZone. "JoWooD Entertainment Files for Bankruptcy". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "JoWood: Sanierungsverfahren gescheitert, Publisher ist am Ende". PC GAMES. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "JoWooD - Now Swedish … sort of! - RPGWatch Forums". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "JoWooD & The Adventure Company, wholly owned labels of Nordic Games.". Nordic Games. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Nordic Games Holding AB Group Acquires JoWood & The Adventure Company". Nordic Games. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Alien Nations - PC". IGN. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Panzer Elite - PC". IGN. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "JoWooD Productions - S.W.I.N.E.". 2006-03-24. Archived from the original on 24 March 2006. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  13. ↑ "Some Information news - Hard Truck 2: King of the Road Game". ModDB. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "K-Hawk: Survival Instinct". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Neighbours from Hell: Revenge is a Sweet Game (PC CD)". Amazon. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Cold Zero: No Mercy". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Railroad Pioneer - Content". Kritzelkratz 3000 GmbH. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "KRITZELKRATZ 3000 - Game Development". Kritzelkratz 3000 GmbH. Archived from the original on 11 May 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Storm is coming! - JoWooD News Archive". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Welcome at Phenomic Game Development - Latest News". Phenomic Game Development. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Transport Giant on Steam". Steam. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "SpellForce Breath of Winter in UK stores today!". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "SpellForce News Archive". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Solder: Marine Corps". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Neighbours from Hell: On Vacation". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  27. ↑ PAL version of the PlayStation 2 release. Published in North America by Capcom. "Capcom Release Date Info". Capcom. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  28. ↑ In cooperation with Deep Silver. "The Guild 2 - DEEP SILVER". Capcom. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  29. ↑ EU release in affiliation with Deep Silver. NA release by Aspyr Media.
  30. ↑ "Release Data - Freak Out: Extreme Freeride". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  32. ↑ EU release. Released in AU by N3VRF41L Publishing and in the US by DreamCatcher Interactive.
  33. ↑ Also released under the name The Guild 2: Pirates of the High Seas. "The Guild 2: Pirates of the High Seas for PC". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  34. ↑ Initially delayed due to logistical issues. "Die Gilde 2: Release des AddOns wurde verschoben" [The Guild 2: Release of the add-ons has been delayed] (in German). Spieletipps. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Space Force: Rogue Universe". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  36. ↑ "SpellForce Universe Edition". IGN. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  37. ↑ "Details and Credits - Gothic Universe". MetaCritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  38. ↑ EU region. RU release by Russobit-M
  39. ↑ "Painkiller Universe". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  40. 1 2 "Trine Entertainment Ltd. - Games". Trine Games. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  41. ↑ EU retail version. "Torchlight Release Information". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  42. ↑ "The Guild 2: Renaissance". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  43. ↑ "SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny on Steam". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
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