Avalanche Software

Avalanche Software, LLC is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded in October 1995 by four video game programmers formerly of Sculptured Software: John Blackburn, Todd Blackburn, James Michael Henn and Gary Penacho.

Avalanche Software, LLC
Subsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedOctober 3, 1995 (1995-10-03)
Founders
  • John Blackburn
  • Todd Blackburn
  • James Michael Henn
  • Gary Penacho
Headquarters
Salt Lake City, Utah
,
U.S.
Key people
John Blackburn (CEO)
Parent
Websiteavalanchesoftware.com

The studio was acquired by Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios) 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 overshadowed by the popularity of mobile gaming, Disney decided to step out of the video game industry, closing Disney Interactive Studios and all of its subsidiaries, including Avalanche Software. In January 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that they had acquired Avalanche Software and re-opened the company, which saw John Blackburn return as CEO.

History

Avalanche Software was incorporated on October 3, 1995, by John Blackburn, Todd Blackburn, James Michael Henn and Gary Penacho, four programmers that previously worked at Sculptured Software.

On April 19, 2005, Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, announced that they had acquired Avalanche Software for an undisclosed sum.[1] In November 2006, Buena Vista Games formed a sister studio, Fall Line Studio, that would create Disney titles for Nintendo DS and Wii platforms.[2] Disney Interactive Studios merged Fall Line Studio into its sister studio, Avalanche Software, in January 2009.[3]

In October 2012, Disney Interactive Studios announced "Toy Box", a cross-platform gaming initiative where Pixar and Disney characters could interact from a console game to multiple mobile and online applications.[4] In January 2013, Avalanche Software unveiled the toys-to-life cross-platform game Disney Infinity.[5]

On May 10, 2016, with a lack of growth in the toys-to-life market and increasing developmental costs, Disney discontinued Disney Infinity and closed down Avalanche Software, and Disney Interactive Studios as a whole.[6] Many former Avalanche Software workers were employed by castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.[7]

On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced it had acquired the studio from Disney, including its Octane engine software, and re-opened the studio, with John Blackburn returning as its CEO. The studio's first title under their new owner was Cars 3: Driven to Win, a companion game based on the Cars 3 film.[8]

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

References
  1. Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio". GameSpot. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  2. "Disney to make Nintendo games". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  3. Sinclair, Brendan (January 29, 2009). "Disney layoffs hit Turok, Bolt studios". GameSpot. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  4. Barnes, Brooks (October 21, 2012). "Disney, Struggling to Find Its Digital Footing, Overhauls Disney.com". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  5. Lang, Derrik J. (January 15, 2013). "Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise". Business Week. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  6. Alexander, Julia (May 10, 2016). "Disney is ending its Infinity video game line, shutting down Avalanche Software". Polygon. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  7. Conditt, Jessica (September 15, 2016). "Augmented reality studio castAR picks up 'Disney Infinity' devs". Engadget. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  8. McAloon, Alissa (January 24, 2017). "Disney Infinity dev revived and re-opened by Warner Bros". Gamasutra. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
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