GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida[1] known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.[2] Originally, IJE licensed these titles to ShareData of Chandler, Arizona; however, when IJE saw ShareData's success with the titles, IJE decided to publish the titles themselves, resulting in the founding of GameTek.[3]
After establishing distribution for the game show titles, GameTek expanded by licensing European titles for the North American market, including and The Humans. In 1991, they attempted to launch the InfoGenius Systems franchise for the Game Boy.[4] In 1994, the company made a deal to purchase game developer Malibu Interactive from Malibu Comics and renamed to Padded Cell Studios.[5]
In 1996, GameTek scaled down its publishing activities, turning most of that aspect of its business over to Philips.[6] GameTek filed for bankruptcy in December 1997,[7] [8] citing development delays and disappointing sales,[9] and went out of business in July 1998. Most of the company's assets were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in 1997.[10]