American video game developer
Avalanche Software is an American
video game developer and
subsidiary of
Warner Bros. Games based in
Salt Lake City, Utah . It was founded in October 1995 by four
programmers formerly of
Sculptured Software , including John Blackburn, who is
chief executive officer . The studio was acquired by the games arm of
The Walt Disney Company in May 2005, and spent the next ten years developing Disney-related titles, including the
toys-to-life game
Disney Infinity (2013). In May 2016, due to a declining toys-to-life games market, Disney decided to close the games arm, including Avalanche. Warner Bros. Games acquired the studio and re-opened it in January 2017.
History
Avalanche Software was founded by four
programmers formerly of
Sculptured Software , including John Blackburn.
[1]
[2] After Sculptured Software had been acquired by
Acclaim Entertainment , the four had been in contact with another former Sculptured Software staffer who left the year prior for
Saffire . The four were interested in joining Saffire, which was seeking programmers for an upcoming project, but did not want to commute to the company's offices in
Pleasant Grove . Instead, Saffire's owner convinced them to start their own company.
[3] Subsequently, Blackburn and his acquaintances established Avalanche in October 1995, with Blackburn becoming the company's
president .
[1]
On April 19, 2005,
Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), the
video game publishing arm of
The Walt Disney Company , announced that it had acquired Avalanche for an undisclosed price.
[4] Buena Vista Games established a sister studio to Avalanche,
Fall Line Studio , in November 2006.
[5] The studio was merged into Avalanche in January 2009.
[6] In January 2013, Avalanche unveiled the
toys-to-life cross-platform game
Disney Infinity .
[7] On May 10, 2016, due to a lack of growth in the toys-to-life market and increasing development costs, Disney discontinued Disney Infinity and closed down Disney Interactive Studios, including Avalanche.
[8] Many former Avalanche workers were hired by
castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.
[9]
On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Games) announced that it had acquired and re-opened the studio, with Blackburn returning as its
chief executive officer . The studio's first title under the new ownership was
Cars 3: Driven to Win .
[10]
Hogwarts Legacy was released in 2023 as Avalanche's first[
clarification needed ] independent game since it was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. The open-world action role-playing game was published by the publisher
Portkey Games , which is also owned by Warner Bros. Games. The game was officially announced as part of the
PlayStation 5 Showcase on September 16, 2020 and was subsequently named "Star of the Evening" by the daily newspaper Die Welt.
[11]
[12] It has been released for
PlayStation 5 ,
Xbox Series X/S ,
Windows ,
PlayStation 4 ,
Xbox One , and
Nintendo Switch .
[13]
Games developed
Year
Title
Platform(s)
1996
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Sega Genesis ,
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
PlayStation
2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge
1997
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Nintendo 64
1998
Off Road Challenge
1999
Rampage 2: Universal Tour
PlayStation, Nintendo 64
NFL Blitz 2000
Dreamcast
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
Dreamcast
2000
Rampage Through Time
PlayStation
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
PlayStation, Nintendo 64
NFL Blitz 2001
Dreamcast
Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights
Dreamcast
2001
NCAA College Football 2K2: Road to the Rose Bowl
Dreamcast
2002
NCAA College Football 2K3
GameCube ,
PlayStation 2 ,
Xbox
Rugrats: Royal Ransom
GameCube, PlayStation 2
2003
Tak and the Power of Juju
2004
Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
2005
Tak: The Great Juju Challenge
Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
Chicken Little
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox,
Microsoft Windows
2006
25 to Life
PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Chicken Little: Ace in Action
PlayStation 2,
Wii , Microsoft Windows
2007
Meet the Robinsons
GameCube, PlayStation 2,
Xbox 360 , Wii, Microsoft Windows
2007
Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour
PlayStation 2, Wii
2008
Bolt
PlayStation 2,
PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows
2010
Toy Story 3
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows
2011
Cars 2
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows
2013
Disney Infinity
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2014
Disney Infinity 2.0
PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360,
Xbox One ,
Wii U ,
PlayStation Vita
2015
Disney Infinity 3.0
PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows,
Apple TV
2017
Cars 3: Driven to Win
PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U,
Nintendo Switch
2023
Hogwarts Legacy
PlayStation 4,
PlayStation 5 , Xbox One,
Xbox Series X/S , Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
References
^
a
b Kratz, Greg (April 20, 2005).
"Disney branch buys Salt Lake game developer" .
Deseret News .
Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020 .
^
"Avalanche Software Biography" . Avalanche Software . 2001. Archived from
the original on February 10, 2001.
^ Sheehan, Gavin (August 17, 2011).
"Avalanche Software" .
Salt Lake City Weekly .
Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020 .
^ Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005).
"Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio" .
GameSpot .
Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
^
"Disney to make Nintendo games" .
Los Angeles Times . November 8, 2006.
Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 29, 2009).
"Disney layoffs hit Turok, Bolt studios" .
GameSpot .
Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
^ Lang, Derrik J. (January 15, 2013).
"Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise" .
Phys.org .
Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
^ Alexander, Julia (May 10, 2016).
"Disney is ending its Infinity video game line, shutting down Avalanche Software" .
Polygon .
Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
^ Conditt, Jessica (September 15, 2016).
"Augmented reality studio castAR picks up 'Disney Infinity' devs" .
Engadget .
Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020 .
^ McAloon, Alissa (January 24, 2017).
"Disney Infinity dev revived and re-opened by Warner Bros" .
Gamasutra .
Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
^ Gehm, Florian (September 17, 2020).
"PlayStation 5 Showcase: Hogwarts Legacy ist der Star der Sony-Präsentation" . DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved July 22, 2022 .
^ Uslenghi, Fabiano; Zirkler, Dennis (September 17, 2020).
"Harry Potter: Open-World-Rollenspiel Hogwarts Legacy kommt für den PC" . GameStar (in German). Retrieved July 22, 2022 .
^ Dornbush, Jonathon (September 16, 2020).
"Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy Announced, Confirmed for PS5" .
IGN . Retrieved September 17, 2020 .
External links
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