In Memoriam: Game Studios That Closed in 2013
2013 was a tumultuous year in the gaming industry. In the span of less than 12 months, we saw the fall of titans such as LucasArts and THQ, with the repercussions of those closures sending shock waves through the development community.
All told, over a dozen studios were shuttered over the past year. Some were closed far too soon, others lingered on long past their prime, but all of them will be missed.
THQ
The biggest loss this year, at least in terms of industry sway, was THQ, formerly one the world's foremost video games publishers and developers. During its over two decades in operation, THQ and its subsidiaries produced franchises such as
Saints Row,
Darksiders,
Company of Heroes,
Red Faction,
MX vs. ATV, as well as the WWE and
Warhammer 40K games.
Even towards its end, the company employed hundreds of people, and whether or not you'll miss THQ's products, it was very sad to see so many talented game developers out of a job.
LucasArts
The slow, lingering demise of LucasArts finally came to a head in 2013. The iconic publisher and former developer had been an industry staple since 1982, producing some of the most memorable games in the medium's history. Unfortunately, dwindling interest in AAA
Star Wars games and more than a few poor strategic decisions left the modern LucasArts a shell of its former self.
When Disney acquired its parent company Lucasfilm in October 2012, it closed down LucasArts in favor of a new policy that would see external developers tackling its licensed games.
Luckily, at least some of its properties, such as
Battlefront, live on at EA. Although we're still waiting a final verdict on
Star Wars 1313, and the outlook isn't looking great.
Vigil Games
Vigil Games had the unfortunate luck to become a THQ subsidiary in 2006. When THQ crumbled in late 2012, Vigil went down with it, sold in an auction as part of the bankruptcy hearings.
Despite two well-received games on its resume,
Darksiders and its sequel, Vigil initially received no bids. In the end, Nordic Games acquired the
Darksiders franchise, with Vigil as a studio ceasing to exist. Many former employees were hired by a new Crytek subsidiary, Crytek USA, with a number of others going to work at Retro, Battecry, and other studios.
Zynga Japan
Zynga's Japanese studio was one of the first to go this year, officially closing its doors this past January. The studio was opened in 2010, originally localizing Zynga titles for Japan, then moving on to original games such as
Montopia,
Mojimoto, and
Machitsuku.
Wizarbox
Wizarbox was a French studio best known for their adventure games. They got their start in the industry producing Xbox ports such as
Arx Fatalis, but moved on to their own projects in 2007.
Their 2008 game,
So Blonde, was nominated for "best video game script" at the 2008 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards. Sadly, the studio filed for the French equivalent of
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2012, and officially ended all production in early 2013.
BioWare San Francisco
BioWare San Francisco, formerly known as EA2D, worked on mobile titles such as
Dragon Age Legends and
Mirror's Edge 2D before being closed by its parent company, EA. According to
GamesRadar, approximately 25 to 30 employees were laid off in the transition, with EA deeming it too expensive to produce mobile games in Redwood Shores.
Junction Point Studios
Junction Point was founded by legendary game developer Warren Spector. The studio was founded in 2005, and began work on a
Half-Life series spin-off, which was cancelled when the group was acquired by Disney in 2007.
Disney hoped that Junction Point would allow the company to tap into the AAA games market, but after disappointing sales of
Epic Mickey and
Epic Mickey 2, the studio was closed in January 2013.
Blitz Games
While officially unaffiliated with THQ, Blitz Games was one of the sad casualties of the distributor's bankruptcy. The studio had been around for over 20 years, producing dozens of projects, including
Reservoir Dogs and Pac-Man World 3. THQ was the studio's primary publisher though, and with that financing gone, Blitz was unable to continue operations and closed its doors in September.
Zynga Baltimore
Zynga's Baltimore studio was responsible for
CityVille 2, which never really caught on with the Facebook crowd like its predecessor did. The game was discontinued in February, and the project's studio went down with it.
Danger Close Studio
Danger Close was an internal EA studio opened to focus on the company's
Medal of Honor brand. After a disappointing return on 2012's
Warfighter, the IP was put on hold, and Danger Close was dismantled, with at least some of the employees reassigned to different divisions at EA.
EA Phenomic
A Germany-based EA subsidiary, Phenomic was responsible for a number of real-time strategy games including the
SpellForce series,
BattleForge,
Lords of Ultima, and
Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances.
The studio was known mainly for its hybrid RTS-MMO style, and while its games were not especially well-received, they're definitely responsible for pioneering online-only strategy games.
Impossible Studios
Impossible Studios was shuttered before it was even off the ground. The studio was founded by former developers at Big Huge Games, and was set to work on
Infinity Blade: Dungeons. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the game was put on hold and Impossible Studios was closed after just eight months in operation.
Victory Games
Victory Games, a former BioWare off-shoot, was opened to focus on the
Command & Conquer series for EA. The studio's first project,
Command & Conquers: Generals 2, was revealed at the 2011 Spike VGAs. The following year, the project was shifted to a F2P game that dropped the "Generals" moniker. Finally, seemingly out of the blue, the game was cancelled outright in October, and the studio closed alongside it.
Funcom Beijing
While this studio never released its own game proper, it was responsible for a large amount of the art and animation for Funcom's
Secret World MMO. The game was not the overnight success Funcom was hoping for though, and the team was scaled back after the game's launch, with the Beijing studio closed completely.
TimeGate Studios
TimeGate, the studio that Gearbox blames for the much reviled
Aliens: Colonial Marines, was quite suddenly closed just months after announcing a new project. While the studio will probably be best remembered for its infamous
Aliens game, in its 15 year run it also worked on titles such as
Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns,
Axis & Allies,
FEAR: Extraction Point, and
Section 8.
to those who made Homeworld Cataclysm and Robin Hood.
