WAcclaim Studios Austin was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by Jeff Spangenberg, previously lead designer for Punk Development, and originally located in Santa Clara, California. Iguana found first success with Aero the Acro-Bat, moved to Austin and acquired Optimus Software in 1993. Iguana was acquired by Acclaim Entertainment in January 1995 and received another sub-studio, Iguana West in October that year. Spangenberg was fired from his position in July 1998 and filed a lawsuit on breach of contract the following October. Iguana was rebranded Acclaim Studios Austin in May 1999, and the studio was closed down in August 2004, followed by the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of its parent in September 2004.
WAirship Syndicate is a video game development company based in Austin, Texas. Founded by several ex-Vigil Games staff including Joe Madureira and Ryan Stefanelli, in 2014, Airship Syndicate is most known for developing Battle Chasers: Nightwar (2017), Darksiders Genesis (2019) and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story (2021).
WApogee Software, LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rowlett, Texas. The company was founded by Terry Nagy in 2008 after he acquired the rights to the name and logo from 3D Realms, which had used both previously.
WArchetype Entertainment is an American video game development studio established as a division of game developer and publisher Wizards of the Coast, itself a subsidiary of Hasbro. The Austin, Texas-based studio was created by Wizards in April 2019 to develop new intellectual property outside of Wizards' existing Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering franchises. Archetype is notable for having drawn talent from former BioWare staff that had previously worked on Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games such as the Baldur's Gate series among other titles, but had since left the studio after its acquisition by Electronic Arts. These include James Ohlen, Chad Robertson, and Drew Karpyshyn.
WArmature Studio, LLC is an American video game development studio in Austin, Texas. In April 2008, after completing Metroid Prime 3: Corruption in 2007 for Nintendo, former game director Mark Pacini and art director Todd Keller left Retro Studios to start Armature, which was founded in September 2008. Armature's first game was porting Metal Gear Solid HD Collection to the PlayStation Vita in 2012. In April 2013, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate would be developed by Armature as their first new work and released for both the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS on October 25, 2013. The third game developed was the PlayStation Vita edition of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
WAspyr Media, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a publisher and developer of entertainment for multiple gaming platforms.
WBethesda Game Studios Austin LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas.
WBethesda Game Studios Dallas LLC is an American video game developer based in Dallas, founded in 2007 by Tom Mustaine, Marc Tardif, and Shawn Green. The company was briefly owned by 6waves Lolapps in 2012 and acquired by ZeniMax Media in February 2017. In August 2018, Escalation became part of Bethesda Game Studios under the name Bethesda Game Studios Dallas.
WCrytek USA Corp. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas, and a subsidiary of Crytek. The studio was led by David Adams, who was formerly the CEO of Vigil Games; a studio that had been acquired by THQ, but was shut down as part of THQ's Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 23 January 2013. Adams was personally courted by Crytek's founder Cevat Yerli due to Vigil's work on the Darksiders series, and the trust and leadership of his studio's former staff—many of whom had also joined him at the studio.
WDestination Games was an American computer game development company created in April 2000 by Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott and Starr Long, following their departure from Origin Systems.
WDevolver Digital Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Mike Wilson, Harry Miller and Rick Stults, alongside business partners Nigel Lowrie and Graeme Struthers. The three founders had previously operated Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.
WDigital Anvil was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas.
WEdge of Reality, Ltd. was an American video game developer founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas that developed video games for the Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles. It also had games in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games consoles. It was best-known for developing Nintendo 64 ports of the first three Tony Hawk's games.
WGearbox Software, L.L.C. is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, serves as president and chief executive officer. Gearbox initially created expansions for the Valve game Half-Life, then ported that game and others to console platforms. In 2005, Gearbox launched its first independent set of games, Brothers in Arms, on console and mobile devices. It became their flagship franchise and spun off a comic book series, television documentary, books, and action figures. Their second original game series, Borderlands, commenced in 2009, and by 2015 had sold over 26 million copies. The company also owns the intellectual property of Duke Nukem and Homeworld.
WGunfire Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by David Adams in July 2014, bringing with him the core team of Crytek USA just prior to that studio's closure. The company was acquired by THQ Nordic in August 2019.
Wid Software LLC is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack. Business manager Jay Wilbur was also involved. id Software made important technological developments in video game technologies for the PC, including work done for the Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake franchises. id's work was particularly important in 3D computer graphics technology and in game engines that are used throughout the video game industry. The company was involved in the creation of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Wolfenstein 3D is often considered to be the first true FPS, Doom is a game that popularized the genre and PC gaming in general, and Quake was id's first true 3D FPS.
WIon Storm, L.P. was an American video game developer founded by video game industry veterans John Romero and Tom Hall, both formerly of id Software. Despite an impressive pedigree and high expectations, the company only produced one commercial and critical success, 2000's Deus Ex.
WJunction Point Studios (JPS) was a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Disney Interactive Studios acquired Junction Point Studios in July 2007 to develop a property based on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character created by Walt Disney but owned by Universal Studios until the character was acquired by The Walt Disney Company from Universal in 2006. The studio was closed in 2013.
WMumboJumbo, LLC is an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices.
WOrigin Systems was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as the Ultima and Wing Commander series. The company was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992.
WPanic Button, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Founded in late 2007, the studio is best known for their ports of AAA video games from other platforms to the Nintendo Switch console. Panic Button also does contract work on other platforms, including 4K updates for PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X.
WSickhead Games, LLC is an American independent game development studio founded in 2002. It is best known for its multiplatform turn-based strategy game ARMED!, its involvement with the MonoGame framework and Torque series of game engines, and the development of several PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch ports of indie games including TowerFall Ascension, Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, and Axiom Verge.
WSpacetime Studios (STS) is a games development studio, based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2005 by a small group of experienced PC MMO game developers: Gary Gattis, Cinco Barnes, Anthony L. Sommers and Jake Rodgers. With experience developing such games as Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies, the start-up was created with the aim to create Sci-Fi MMOs for the PC market.
WStartup Games is an Austin-based non-profit that hosts a series of events centered on competition between tech startups in games common to startup culture. Founded in 2012, the organization holds several annual competitions, with each company playing on behalf of a charity of their choice.
WStoic is a video game development company located in Austin, Texas. Founded by three ex-BioWare staff in December 2011, Stoic is most known for developing the tactical role-playing video game The Banner Saga (2014) and its sequels, The Banner Saga 2 (2016) and The Banner Saga 3 (2018).
WTerminal Reality is an American video game development and production company based in Lewisville, Texas. Founded in October 1994 by ex-Microsoft employee Mark Randel and former Mallard Software general manager Brett Combs, Terminal Reality developed a variety of games including racing games, 3D action games, and more.
WTwisted Pixel Games is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Originally a contractor, Twisted Pixel releases games based on its own intellectual properties such as The Maw and 'Splosion Man. The company uses its own proprietary engine, known as Beard, to power its games. On October 12, 2011, it was announced that Twisted Pixel had become part of Microsoft Studios. However, Twisted Pixel separated from Microsoft, and became an independent company again on September 30, 2015.
WVersus Evil, LLC is an American independent video game publisher. The company was founded to help independent game developers be financially and creatively successful in the highly competitive video game market. Led by 20-year industry veteran Steve Escalante, formerly of Bethesda Softworks, Versus Evil's services include a full suite of publishing support, including brand marketing, community, social, public relations, creative, production, quality assurance, legal, distribution and other general business support. Versus Evil's staff is located in California, Texas, and Maryland.
WVigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams and based in Austin, Texas.
WZynga Dallas was a video game development company based in Dallas, Texas. After Ensemble Studios was shut down by Microsoft in 2009, Bonfire Studios was one of four companies founded by former Ensemble employees. Bonfire's co-founders were Bill Jackson, David Rippy, Scott Winsett, and Stephen Rippy.