Avalanche Software

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Not to be confused with Avalanche Studios.

Avalanche Software
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedOctober 1995; 25 years ago (1995-10)
FounderJohn Blackburn
Headquarters
Salt Lake City, Utah
,
US
Key people
John Blackburn (CEO)
Parent
Websiteavalanchesoftware.com

Avalanche Software is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in October 1995 by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn, who serves as 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 Software. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired the studio and re-opened it in January 2017.

History[]

Avalanche Software 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 Avalanache Software in October 1995, with Blackburn becoming the company's president.[1]

On April 19, 2005, Buena Vista Games (later called Disney Interactive Studios), the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, announced that it had acquired Avalanche Software to undisclosed terms.[4] Buena Vista Games established a sister studio to Avalanche Software, Fall Line Studio, in November 2006.[5] The studio was merged into Avalanche Software in January 2009.[6] In January 2013, Avalanche Software 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 Software.[8] Many former Avalanche Software workers were hired by castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.[9] On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 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] It is set to release its first Disney-independent title after the acquisition, Hogwarts Legacy, in 2022, which was announced at the PlayStation 5 event in September 2020. It will be released for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.[11]

Games developed[]

Year Title Platform(s)
1996 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Sega Genesis, Super NES
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
2000 Rampage Through Time PlayStation
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie PlayStation, Nintendo 64
Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights Dreamcast
2002 NCAA College Football 2K3 GameCube, 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
2008 Bolt PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows
2010 Toy Story 3 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
2011 Cars 2 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
2013 Disney Infinity PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, iOS
2014 Disney Infinity 2.0 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android
2015 Disney Infinity 3.0 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, Apple TV
2017 Cars 3: Driven to Win PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo Switch
2022 Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  2. ^ "Avalanche Software Biography". Avalanche Software. 2001. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001.
  3. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (August 17, 2011). "Avalanche Software". Salt Lake City Weekly. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Disney to make Nintendo games". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 29, 2009). "Disney layoffs hit Turok, Bolt studios". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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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