Underground Development

Underground Development
Subsidiary
Industry Computer and video games
Founded 1994
Defunct February 11, 2010
Headquarters Redwood Shores, California
Parent Activision
Website www.undergrounddev.com

Underground Development (formerly known as Z-Axis Games) was a video game developer founded in 1994 by David Luntz. The first game they began developing was Madden NFL '96 for the Sega Genesis.[1] The studio continued to make primarily sports and extreme sport games for the rest of its career. The first extreme sports game Z-Axis created was Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, published by Rockstar Games.

They were later acquired by Activision in May 2002, and in 2005 Z-Axis relocated to Foster City, California.[2] In early 2008, the studio was renamed to Underground Development in response to changes in both direction and personnel. On April 19, 2008, parent company Activision announced that the studio would close after completing development on the PlayStation 3 version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.[3] However, the studio remained open and moved to a new office in the Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, California[4] in February 2009.

Activision closed the studio on February 11, 2010 as part of a cost-cutting plan under Vivendi. Many of the members have since relocated to Visceral Games and Sledgehammer Games.

Developed games (as Z-Axis Games)

Game title Year released Platform(s) Notes
Madden NFL '96 1996 Sega Genesis The first game created by Z-Axis
Fox Sports College Hoops '99 1998 Nintendo 64
Alexi Lalas International Soccer 1999 PlayStation
Microsoft Windows
Game Boy Color		 Released as "Three Lions" in Europe.
Space Invaders 1999 PlayStation
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo 64		 A redesigned 3D version of the arcade classic.
Thrasher presents Skate and Destroy 1999 PlayStation
Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana 2000 PlayStation
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2000 PlayStation
Game Boy Color
Dreamcast
Microsoft Windows
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix 2001 PlayStation Updated version of Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, with added extra levels, characters, and other content.
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 2001 PlayStation 2
GameCube
Game Boy Advance
Xbox		 GameCube and Xbox versions contain extra content not found in the GBA and PS2 versions.
Aggressive Inline 2002 PlayStation 2
GameCube
Game Boy Advance
Xbox
BMX XXX 2002 PlayStation 2
GameCube
Xbox
X-Men: The Official Game 2006 PlayStation 2
Xbox
Xbox 360
Rollerball Cancelled Nintendo 64 Planned for release on the N64 during or after 1998. It was based on the movie Rollerball.

Developed games (as Underground Development)

References

  1. ↑ "Z-Axis Games - IGN". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  2. ↑ "Activision’S Z-Axis Moves Headquarters To Foster City To Accommodate Expansion Plans". Armchairempire.com. 2005-02-10. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  3. ↑ "Activision confirms Underground closure". Gamesindustry.biz. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  4. ↑ "Underground Development website". Undergrounddev.com. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  5. ↑ "Terry Allen's Portfolio". Pixelanium.com. 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
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