Massive Entertainment

Massive Entertainment was founded in 1997 by Martin Walfisz. In June 2000, Massive released the award-winning PC action-strategy title Ground Control, published by Sierra Studios. The same year an expansion was released named Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy.

In 2002, the studio was acquired by Vivendi Universal Games through their NDA Productions subsidiary.[1]

In October 2007, they released the game World in Conflict, which has been described in interviews on the company's official website as a further development of the real-time tactics gameplay formula from the Ground Control games, but set on Earth during an alternate history late Cold War. The game was released on 18 September 2007 and won wide critical acclaim, including several nominations for one of the best games of 2007. It was followed by an expansion, World in Conflict: Soviet Assault in March 2009. In December 2007, the studio moved into new offices on Dorttninggatan in Malmö, at the time employing 130 people.[2]

Massive's former headquarters on Drottninggatan in Malmö (pictured in 2008). During its occupancy, from December 2007 to April 2020, the studio grew from 130 to more than 650 employees.[2]

On 6 August 2008, Activision Blizzard put up Massive Entertainment for sale after the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games and the subsequent internal reorganization.[3] On 10 November 2008, Ubisoft acquired Massive Entertainment. In March 2009, following the acquisition, the former CEO Martin Walfisz left Massive.[4]

In December 2010, Ubisoft confirmed that Massive would be "teaming up on a project for Assassin's Creed". On 5 May 2011, it was announced that Massive Entertainment is collaborating on development of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, developing the Desmond's journey sequences in the game, which was released in November 2011. Massive also collaborated on the development of Far Cry 3, which was released in December 2012.

At E3 2013 Massive announced and demonstrated their next game, Tom Clancy's The Division.[5] The game was released in 8 March 2016 and sold more copies in its first 24 hours than any game in Ubisoft's history and that it had the biggest first week ever for a new game franchise, generating $330 million in its first five days.

In March 2017, Massive announced that their next major title will be based on James Cameron's Avatar.[6] In April 2020, Massive and its now more than 650 staff moved from the offices on Drottninggatan to Kvarteret Eden, a former textile factory in Malmö's Möllan district.[2]

• Official website