Black Rock Studio Explained

Black Rock Studio Limited
Type:Subsidiary
Former Name:
  • Pixel Planet
  • Climax Studios Limited
  • Climax Studios (Brighton) Limited
  • Climax Driving Limited
  • Climax Racing Limited
Fate:Liquidation
Defunct:[1]
Successor:Library:
Disney Interactive
Founder:Tony Beckwith
Location City:Brighton
Location Country:United Kingdom
Industry:Video games
Num Employees:300

Black Rock Studio Limited was a British video game developer based in Brighton, England. It was a division of Disney Interactive Studios. The studio was founded by Tony Beckwith in 1998 as Pixel Planet. It was acquired by the Climax Group in 1999 and was renamed Climax Brighton. In 2004, it became Climax Racing, as the Climax Group rebranded its studios.[2] On 28 September 2006, it was acquired by DIS (formerly known as Buena Vista Games in that time) and was eventually renamed Black Rock Studio in 2007.[3] The last game the studio developed for the Climax Group was MotoGP '07, which was completed after its acquisition by Buena Vista Games. The name is derived from a district in Brighton.[4] In early 2011, the company faced lay-offs and was forced to abandon sequels for Pure and . Despite good reviews for both games, Disney turned down both sequels to focus on freemium content.[5]

On 30 June 2011, Disney Interactive Studios announced their intent to enter a consultation process on the proposal to close the studios. It was later confirmed that the studio has been shut down and that several 300 ex-employees have formed new studios, including Studio Gobo, West Pier Studio, Roundcube Entertainment, ShortRound Games, and Boss Alien.[6]

Games

Year Title Platform(s)
as Climax Brighton
2002 Gumball 3000 PlayStation 2
2002 Windows, Xbox
2002 PlayStation 2, Xbox
2003 GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
2003 Windows, Xbox
2003 The Italian Job GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
2003 Hot Wheels: World Race GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows
as Climax Racing
2004 ATV Offroad Fury 3 PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
2004 Crash 'n' Burn Xbox, PlayStation 2
2004 Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows
2005 Windows, Xbox
2006 MotoGP '06 Xbox 360
2006 ATV Offroad Fury 4 PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
2007 MotoGP '07 Windows, Xbox 360
as Black Rock Studio
2008 Pure PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
2010 PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Split/Second dev Black Rock to close. Eurogamer. July 2011. 1 July 2011. 24 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102430/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-07-01-split-second-dev-black-rock-to-close. live.
  2. Web site: Black Rock Studio . 15 December 2008 . 10 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120410120540/http://www.mobygames.com/company/black-rock-studio . live .
  3. Web site: Michael French . Studio unveils new identity . . 2007-07-06 . 2009-07-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071206162139/http://www.mcvuk.com/news/27689/Climax-Racing-Studio-unveils-new-identity . 2007-12-06 . dead .
  4. Web site: French . Michael . Climax Racing Studio unveils new identity . . 2007-07-06 . 2009-01-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071206162139/http://www.mcvuk.com/news/27689/Climax-Racing-Studio-unveils-new-identity . 2007-12-06 . dead .
  5. Web site: Lay-offs at Split/Second Studio - Eurogamer . 23 June 2011 . 22 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110622050512/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-05-lay-offs-at-split-second-studio-report . live .
  6. Web site: Robert Purchese . Split/Second dev Black Rock to close . Eurogamer.net . 2011-07-01 . 2011-07-01 . 24 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102430/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-07-01-split-second-dev-black-rock-to-close . live .