The Top Ten Up and Coming Game Studios
Studios in their infancy stage find themselves in an even more precarious situation. Often fueled by their own desire for video gaming innovation, they’ll take the financial and creative risk into their own hands. These are the true pioneers of the video game industry, and we’ve taken the liberty of identifying the top ten up and coming game studios right now.
To be considered, the studio needed to be no older than five years and it could only have released a small number of titles. A studio needn’t be independent to make the list. We evaluated the developers based upon their past track record, how promising their upcoming titles look, and their key people and partnerships.
Here are the ten game developers you would be wise to keep an eye on:
#10 Kaos Studios
Why It Made The List: Every so often, a team of artists and coders create a wildly successful mod and transitions its way into becoming an actual game developer. That’s the case with Kaos Studios (then Trauma Studios) and its immensely popular Battlefield 1942 mod, Desert Combat. They have since been hired by publisher THQ to create Frontlines: Fuel of War, a futuristic war game that aims for the non-linear feel of the Battlefield series with the concentrated gameplay of the Call of Duty games. It’ll be interesting to see how they pull this off, and how well it does given the competitiveness of the genre as of late.
#9 Media Molecule
Why It Made The List: Few gamers took more than a perfunctory look at the quirky Rag Doll Kung Fu, but when Media Molecule unveiled Little Big Planet - their upcoming title for the PS3 – more than a few heads turned. Media Molecule was formed in early 2006 after Mark Healey (the man credited almost entirely with Rag Doll Kung Fu) and a few fellow artists left Lionhead Studios to see what they could give to the ‘next-gen’ world. Well, they’ve started to show what they’re made of; cutesy puzzle games with out of this world physics and an emphasis on creativity and player created content. Little Big Planet boasts a simple and intuitive level editor that players will quickly come to master just by playing the game. Once finished with designing a level, you’ll be able to invite anyone within the Little Big Planet community to check it out for themselves.
#8 Spark Unlimited
Why It Made The List: Spark Unlimited came about after a few former developers from the Medal of Honor series set out on their own to create something a bit different in the way of World War II shooters. After getting an initial start developing Call of Duty: Finest Hour for Activision, they have now announced two next generation first person shooters using Unreal 3 technology. The first, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (Codemasters), is set in an alternate time line where the Nazi’s had successfully defeated Britain and now have footholds along the eastern seaboard. The second game, Legendary: The Box (Gamecock), is set in modern day locations such as New York and London. It features combat against mythological creatures that were released from Pandora’s Box. The games are due out the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of next year, respectively.
#7 Day 1 Studios
Why It Made The List: Last we checked, deformable terrain was something everybody could love. The novelty value of blowing huge holes into the cavernous walls of Red Faction was off the charts. With that in mind, Day 1 Studios is looking to tickle your fancy with their upcoming title Fracture. After getting their start with the MechAssault series on the original Xbox and a port of F.E.A.R. to the 360 and PS3, they’re looking to break a few new boundaries. Fracture boasts a unique terrain system that not only can you deform and mold, its part of the game play mechanics to do so. Different weapons will raise hills in front of you and provide cover, or cause valleys to give you a quick high ground in a firefight. Still in the early stages, you can expect to hear quite a bit on this game and a lot more on its maker in the coming year.
#6 S2 Games
Why It Made The List: Successfully combining several genres is always a difficult task; the individual components just never seem to shine quite as much. But never has it been done better than in S2 Games’ Savage: The Battle for Newarth. S2 had the idea that maybe it’d be a bit more interesting to give other human players commands for battle, as opposed to the standard PC drone. The team was spot on and Savage turned out to be a sleeper hit that many fell in love with. Not being one to disappoint, S2 released Savage: The Battle for Newarth as a free game when they began development on Savage 2. Of course, they couldn’t be content with just releasing a plain old sequel and are planning to include a little RPG twist with progressive stats in online play. Somehow, ambitious just doesn’t seem grand enough a word for S2 Games.
#5 Introversion Software
Why It Made The List: London-based Introversion Software, the “last of the bedroom programmers,†has had quite the cult success in its short existence. Focused more on unique game play and design rather than need for flashy graphics, they’ve shown what a small team of developers can do with a relatively limited budget, and grown rapidly from there. After the commercial success of their first game, Uplink, they’ve begun to distribute through Valve’s Steam Network. After great critical acclaim with their last release, DEFCON, the company has announced two new projects in the works. First, the aptly-titled Multiwinia, is a multiplayer adaptation of their sophomore game, Darwinia. The second is a little-spoken of game called Subversion, which so far appears to be based around “procedurally generated content.†We think its safe to assume that this one will be a lot more than just a blip on the radar.
#4 Wideload Games
Why It Made The List: Why would the founder of a studio, responsible for one of the most widely received console games of all time, leave at the company’s peak? To make a statement, of course.
In 2003, Alex Seropian left Bungie to found Wideload Games, a developer bent on proving that you don’t need a huge company with an even bigger budget to make a great game. And so far they’ve done just that. The studio’s first offering, Stubbs The Zombie, was a wildly unique game that throws you into the often antagonistical role of a zombie who must do everything in his power to fulfill his insatiable hunger.
What’s up next for the small company with big plans? Well, a game about politically-inclined animals, of course. Not much has been said about Hail to the Chimp yet, but it appears that the King of the Jungle’s throne is up for grabs, and various animals are fighting their way to the top. A bit of a departure from Halo, to say the least. And that’s exactly why Wideload’s in our top ten.
#3 Petroglyph Games
Why It Made The List: Good, long-lasting real-time strategies are few and far between these days. So going into the market can be a bit daunting without the proper talent. Thankfully, Petroglyph Games has managed to wrangle in a few members from game series’ such as Command and Conquer and Dune. After creating their first game, Star Wars: Empire at War, licensed under LucasArts, they’ve teamed up with game publisher Sega to create a series all their own. Universe at War: Earth Assault is looking to set the stage for cross platform battles through Xbox Live and Games for Windows. It’ll be interesting to see how Petroglyph handle and balance the obvious advantage PC users have with micromanagement in the game, which should in turn set the stage for other cross platform gaming.
#2 Flagship Studios
Why It Made The List: It’s tough being a brand new developer on the verge of your first release. Although, it’s a hell of a lot easier when you have the talent that Flagship Studios has.
Founded by a few upper division ex-Blizzard employees, including the celebrated producer and now CEO of Flagship Bill Roper, the team is really bringing their A-Game to the table with their debut title. Hellgate: London is set in the near future after the UK has been invaded by demons deep from the depths of hell. The selling point here is the attempt to weave point-and-click RPG play ala’ Diablo with some first-person-shooter elements. If the team’s prior work with Blizzard is any indication, no other studio is better suited to pull this one off. You can expect to see Hellgate: London hit shelves on October 31st.
#1 Obsidian Entertainment
Why It Made The List: Obsidian Entertainment started off its life with two daunting tasks; create the sequels to two of to the veteran BioWare’s biggest games (Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights). Both were successes, and Obsidian showed just what they were capable of right out the gate. Founded by five ex-Interplay employees, they quickly hopped back onto the role-playing bandwagon after being joined by Josh Sawyer (lead designer on Icewind-Dale II) in 2005. Currently, Obsidian is working on creating an RPG set in the Aliens universe and is also designing an expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2, called Mask of the Betrayer, due out later this year.
Conclusion: If it weren’t for game studios such as these (and a magnitude of others out there that didn’t quite make our list), the industry would have become unbearably stale and repetitive long ago. The fact that there remains developers willing to strike out on their own in order to follow their own unique visions for gaming is possibly the single most valuable asset in existence for modern day game development. It is these visionaries that make it possible for video games to be elevated to an art form all its own.
Note: The featured top image is of the fine blokes from Introversion Software.
What do you think of our choices? Did we forget someone you know should be on there? Leave your comments below!
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[...] The Top Ten Up and Coming <b>Game</b> Studios [...]
Wow DEFCON looks really nice, I’ll have to check that out (sorta reminds me of War Games - the movie with Matthew Brodderick I think).
I don’t know really about Obsidian Entertainment. Sure they have created sequels to big name games, but both of them (KotOR2 and NWN2) have been disappointments when compared to the original games. Both were rushed, and just didn’t live up to the quality of the original games.
[...] Primotechnology has posted up a list of the upcoming Game Studios and FSS makes it in at number two. Why It Made The List: It’s tough being a brand new developer on the verge of your first release. Although, it’s a hell of a lot easier when you have the talent that Flagship Studios has. [...]
[...] Primotechnology a posté une liste des futurs meilleurs studios de jeux et FSS est arrivé en deuxième position. Comment s’est il retrouvé dans la liste: C’est toujours difficile d’être un nouveau développeur sur le point de publier son premier jeu. Bien que ce soit bien plus simple quand vous avez le talent de Flagship Studios. [...]
Bethesda! They should have been on the list.
Great Article. Looking forward to Petroglyph Games’ real-time strategy game. The Cross Platform is something I really hope takes off.
Side Note to Jon: I agree Bethesda rocks, but it could not have made the list due to it’s over 20 year pedigree. I remeber playing Wayne Gretzky Hockey (Bethesda)way back on the Amiga computer system.
I would have to say that Offset Software deserves to be on the list. It is a new company started by a few of the main developers from Savage: The Battle for Newerth. Check out their website http://www.projectoffset.com the game they are working on right now looks amazing. The graphics rival Unreal 3, with motion blur uniformly applied to all objects in the game. The game is described as a FPS taking place in an epic fantasy world. Here is a link to the game description page http://www.projectoffset.com/game.html
Interesting article.
Thanks for posting it.
Anyone reading this should check out the Bioware forums concerning Neverwinter Nights 2 and see just how good a job Obsidian is doing. And as for Knights Of The Old Republic 2 The last patch (ages ago) made more problems and fixed none. I for one will never buy another Obsidian game.
[...] Die Top Ten der neuen Game Studios Die Leute von Primotechnology haben eine Top Ten Liste der besten neuen Game Studios ver
[...] Primotechnology has posted up a list of the upcoming Game Studios and FSS makes it in at number two. Why It Made The List: It’s tough being a brand new developer on the verge of your first release. Although, it’s a hell of a lot easier when you have the talent that Flagship Studios has. [...]
BLIZZARD #1
Don’t be silly, Blizzard has been around since early 90s.
[...] read more | digg story [...]
Offset should indeed have been in the list, and actually, if primotechnology for some reason had ‘overlooked’ them, they deserve a special-honor 11th place at least. The technology they are developing is absolutely spectacular and unseen, and it’s just a bunch of guys ‘like me and you’
who are developing it. I recommend to everyone to check out the existing Project: Offset videos, video.google.com or youtube are maybe also a good point to start.
[...] read more | digg story [...]