Blitz Games Studios

(Redirected from Blitz Games)

Blitz Games Studios Limited was a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa. Founded in 1990 by the Oliver Twins, who ran the company until its closure in 2013, it is best known for producing games such as The Fairly OddParents, Bratz, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Biggest Loser, and Karaoke Revolution.[2]

Blitz Games Studios Limited
Formerly
  • Dizzy Enterprises Limited (1990–1994)
  • Interactive Studios Limited (1994–1999)
  • Blitz Games Limited (1999–2008)
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded1990; 34 years ago (1990)
Founders
  • Andrew Oliver
  • Philip Oliver
DefunctSeptember 12, 2013 (2013-09-12)
FateDissolved
SuccessorRadiant Worlds
Headquarters,
England
Key people
  • Philip Oliver (CEO)
  • Andrew Oliver (CTO)
  • Richard Smithies (COO)
Number of employees
230+[1] (2009)
Divisions
  • Blitz Games
  • Blitz Arcade
  • Volatile Games
  • TruSim
  • Blitz Academy
  • BlitzTech
Websitewww.blitzgames.com

Divisions edit

Blitz Games edit

Blitz Games created the games that the company first became well known for: family titles, often licensed on popular characters and existing intellectual property.

Blitz Arcade edit

Blitz Arcade was founded in 2006 with a team of 35 people. It was focused on developing downloadable titles of a small scope.[3] Its first release was an advergame series created for the US Burger King chain. After that, Blitz Arcade turned its focus to downloadable titles and had success with its first game of this type: SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam. They also developed shooter PowerUp Forever, puzzler Droplitz and the 3DTV-compatible beat 'em up Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao.[4]

Volatile Games edit

Volatile Games was responsible for the company's mature games. The division dates from 2006.[5] The company and the division ended in 2013.[6]

Video games created by this division include Reservoir Dogs, runner-up in the 2006 BAFTA awards for Best Soundtrack.[7] Despite allowing the player to complete the game without firing a single shot, the game was considered so realistic in its depictions of violence that it was banned in Australia.[8] They released Dead to Rights: Retribution on 27 April 2010.

A proposed game, Possession, was cancelled.

TruSim edit

TruSim was the serious games division. The idea was to bring commitment to training through video games.[9] It is best known for its work on medical-related training programs including the award-winning Interactive Trauma Trainer.[10]

BlitzTech edit

BlitzTech created and licensed the game development engine and toolchain.

Earlier divisions edit

Virtual Experience Company edit

Past projects include the Tintern Abbey virtual tour.[11] The company was acquired by Blitz Games at the end of 2006 but was sold back to former owner Mike Gogan in May 2008.[12]

Blitz 1UP edit

In 2008 Blitz Games Studios launched the Blitz1UP programme to help independent developers bring their games to market. The programme provided free help and advice on all aspects of game production as well as crowd sourced QA. The programme was closed in 2011 and was replaced by IndieCity, an online indie game marketplace.

Games edit

Games created or published by Interactive Studios/Blitz Games Studios include:

Year Title Platforms
1996 Firo & Klawd PlayStation Windows MS-DOS
1998 WarGames: Defcon 1 PlayStation Windows
Glover Nintendo 64 PlayStation Windows
1999 Action Man: Mission Xtreme
2000 Action Man: Destruction X
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge PlayStation Dreamcast Windows Game Boy Color
2000 Chicken Run Dreamcast Game Boy Advance PlayStation Game Boy Color Windows
2001 The Mummy Returns PlayStation 2
Fuzion Frenzy Xbox
2002 Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise PlayStation Windows
Taz: Wanted PlayStation 2 Xbox Windows GameCube
Zapper: One Wicked Cricket PlayStation 2 Xbox Game Boy Advance Windows GameCube
2003 Cubix Robots for Everyone: Showdown GameCube PlayStation 2
The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules GameCube PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance Windows Xbox
Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue PlayStation 2 Xbox Windows Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS Wii
2004 Bad Boys: Miami Takedown GameCube PlayStation 2 Xbox Windows
The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown GameCube PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance Windows
2005 Bratz: Rock Angelz PlayStation 2 GameCube Game Boy Advance Windows
Pac-Man World 3 PlayStation 2 GameCube Windows Xbox PlayStation Portable Nintendo DS
2006 Reservoir Dogs Xbox PlayStation 2 Windows
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab PlayStation 2 Wii Windows Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS GameCube
Sneak King Xbox Xbox 360
PocketBike Racer Xbox Xbox 360
Big Bumpin' Xbox Xbox 360
2007 Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 GameCube Wii Xbox Xbox 360
Bratz: The Movie
SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis PlayStation 2 Wii Nintendo DS Game Boy Advance
SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam Xbox 360
2008 Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 GameCube Wii Xbox Xbox 360
Project Aftermath
Tak and the Guardians of Gross PlayStation 2 Wii
Bratz: Girlz Really Rock
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade PlayStation 2 Windows Wii Xbox 360 Nintendo DS
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 GameCube Wii Xbox Xbox 360
Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy Windows
PowerUp Forever Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
2009 Droplitz Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Windows iOS
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
KrissX
iCarly Wii Nintendo DS
Karaoke Revolution Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 GameCube Wii Xbox 360 Xbox PlayStation 2
Biggest Loser
2010 Fluttabyes
Clover: A Curious Tale
Mole Control
All Star Karate
2010 Dead to Rights: Retribution Xbox Xbox 360
The Biggest Loser Challenge Wii
The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout Xbox 360
SFG Soccer: Football Fever
Droplitz Delight
2011 Your Doodles Are Bugged! Xbox 360 Windows
Yoostar 2 PlayStation Xbox 360 Windows Mac
Fantastic Pets Xbox 360
SpongeBob's Surf & Skate Roadtrip Xbox 360 Nintendo DS
Michael Phelps: Push the Limit
Puss in Boots Xbox 360 Wii Nintendo DS PlayStation 3
2012 Kumo Lumo
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Wii Windows PlayStation Vita Wii U
2013 Paper Titans iOS Wii Wii U Xbox 360 Windows PlayStation Vita
Shrek Alarm

Awards edit

2007

  • Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007 - Favourite Videogame – SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
  • Edge award for Training and Development of young people
  • ICT Excellence in Skills
  • Blitz Games wins Develop Industry Excellence Award for Business Development
  • Cannes Titanium Grand Prix Award for the Burger King games
  • Golden Clio Award for Burger King games

2006

  • Blitz Games CEO Philip Oliver named Best Industry Player by TIGA [1]
  • Warwickshire Employer of Choice Awards 2006 for creating an exceptional working environment [2].

Closure edit

On 12 September 2013, the company announced that it was closing after 23 years of business.[13] The closure came as a result of the company struggling to raise money to support future development projects, with the demise of THQ, a major client, said by Philip Oliver to have hit the company particularly hard.[13][14] The company is reported to have owed £2.2 million to staff and creditors.[15]

The Oliver brothers along with the former company's COO Richard Smithies almost immediately formed a new company, Radiant Worlds, in the same town, and were reported to have recruited up to 50 former Blitz staff.[16][17]

References edit

  1. ^ "Droplitz Drops in to PSN – PlayStation.Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  2. ^ Warr, Philippa. "Blitz Games Studios announces closure after 23 years". Wired.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  3. ^ Stuart, Keith (12 March 2009). "Blitz Games Studios: altruism, recession and the arcade business". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  4. ^ "C3 Exclusive Interview | Seeing Double: The Oliver Twins (Blitz Games Studios) #1 at Nintendo Cubed3". Cubed3.com. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Volatile Games". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  6. ^ "U.K. Blitz Game Studios Closes After 23 Years". Volatile Games. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  7. ^ "BAFTA Awards". Bafta.org. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  8. ^ 5:42PM PDT (25 August 2006). "Reservoir Dogs game banned in Australia - GameSpot.com". Uk.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Playtime at work". Coventry Telegraph. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. ^ "School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering - University of Birmingham". Iecs.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Ancient abbey's virtual world". BBC News. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  12. ^ "The Virtual Experience Company Parts From Blitz Games Studios". Serious Games. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  13. ^ a b Lee, Dave (12 September 2013). "UK games developer Blitz Games Studios shuts down". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  14. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (12 September 2013). "There have been a lot of men crying, including me". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Creditors owed £2.2m after games firm collapse". Birmingham Post. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  16. ^ Crookes, David (29 July 2013). "UK-based Blitz Games Studios to close after 23 years - News - Gadgets & Tech". The Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  17. ^ Rose, Mike (27 November 2013). "Defunct Blitz Games Studios returns as Radiant Worlds". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 27 November 2013.

External links edit