DreamCatcher Interactive

DreamCatcher Interactive Inc.
Industry Computer and video game industry
Fate Publishing label of Nordic Games GmbH
Founded 1996
Founder Richard Wah Kan
Defunct 2011
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Products Painkiller, Dungeon Lords, First Battalion, Cold War, Dunes of War
Owner Independent
(1996–2006)
JoWooD Entertainment
(2006–2011)

DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. (a.k.a. DreamCatcher Games) was a Canadian computer game publisher of video games founded in 1996 by Richard Wah Kan. In 2006, the company became a subsidiary of JoWooD Entertainment. In 2011, the company went into administration along with its parent JoWooD and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games Holding. The DreamCatcher Interactive brand is currently being used as a publishing label for Nordic Games GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games Holding.

History

DreamCatcher Interactive was founded in 1996 in Toronto, Canada. The company’s first title was the adventure game Soldier Boyz, closely followed by Jewels of the Oracle, which achieved enough success to grow the retail business.[1] Dreamcatcher would later release The Crystal Key which sold over a half million units in North America.[2] Continuing the company's growth, in November 2000, DreamCatcher signed with Her Interactive to publish the Nancy Drew franchise.[3]

In late 2002, most of the assets and development teams of French-based publisher, Cryo Interactive were absorbed by DreamCatcher Interactive, forming the base for DreamCatcher Europe including key offices and a large internal studio.[4] After the acquisition of Cryo Interactive, Dreamcatcher created a publishing division called The Adventure Company in early 2003. The company also partnered with both Wanadoo Edition and Microïds, as well as other studios in the development and distribution of games including Syberia, Still Life and ObsCure.[5] In 2005, the main Microïds studio was acquired by Ubisoft with Dreamcatcher retaining publishing rights to the games being created.[6]

The Adventure Company brand label under DreamCatcher has released many adventure game series' including series' based on Agatha Christie novels. They also recently signed to release a series of titles based on The Hardy Boys.[7] Outside of adventure gaming, DreamCatcher is best known for publishing the first-person shooter Painkiller developed with People Can Fly. Painkiller became a commercial success and was signed with the CPL World Tour 2005.[8] Dreamcatcher would also create another label, Silverline Software, around 2004 for the distribution of some non-core games and the publishing of utility software. Silverline Software would release the "Time to Ride" series of girl’s horse games starting in 2004, which would later be acquired by Ubisoft.

In 2006, JoWooD Entertainment announced the purchase of DreamCatcher Games as a way of increasing their presence into the North American gaming market in addition to acquiring the company's key titles and licenses.[9] Since the acquisition, DreamCatcher Games has continued to launch titles both under The Adventure Company and DreamCatcher labels including new games created by JoWooD like the SpellForce series. In 2011, JoWooD went into administration causing DreamCatcher to file for bankruptcy. In November 2011, Nordic Games Holding announced that they had acquired all DreamCatcher assets and would be turning it into a publishing label of their subsidiary Nordic Games GmbH.[10] Nordic Games Holding had previously acquired JoWooD and The Adventure Company in August also turning both brands into publishing labels of Nordic Games GmbH.[11] All business operations of acquired assets are conducted out of Nordic Games in Vienna, Austria.[10]

Games

Games developed or published by DreamCatcher Interactive
Title Release
Year
Platform Notes
Agassi Tennis Generation 2003Windows, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2
Stealth Combat 2002Windows
Animates 2007Nintendo DS
Arcania: Gothic 4 2010Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Arx Fatalis 2002 Windows, Xbox
Atlantis: The Lost Tales 1997Windows Publisher
Besieger 2004Windows
Cold War 2005Windows, Xbox, Linux
Curse: The Eye of Isis 2003 Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Domination 2005 Windows
Dracula: Resurrection 2000Windows, Mac
Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary 2000Windows, Mac
Dunes of War 2007Windows
Dungeon Lords 2005Windows
Emergency Fire Response 2003Windows
Enigma: Rising Tide 2003Windows
Enigma: Rising Tide Gold Edition 2005Windows
First Battalion 2006Windows, Xbox
Frank Herbert's Dune 2001Windows, PlayStation 2
Genesis Rising 2006Windows
Gore: Ultimate Soldier 2002Windows
Haegemonia: Legions of Iron 2003Windows
Harbinger 2003Windows
Inkheart 2008Nintendo DS based on Inkheart
Jewels of the Oracle 1995Windows, Mac Publisher
LifeSigns: Surgical Unit 2007Nintendo DS
ObsCure 2004Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Painkiller 2004Windows
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell 2004Windows
Painkiller: Black 2005Windows
Painkiller: Hell Wars 2006Xbox
Painkiller: Overdose 2007Windows
Painkiller: Resurrection 2009Windows
Pax Romana 2003Windows Publisher
Playmobil Circus 2009Wii
Playmobil Knights 2009Nintendo DS
Playmobil Pirates 2009Nintendo DS
Project Earth: Starmageddon 2002Windows
Riddle of the Sphinx 2000Windows
Rock Manager 2001Windows
Seven Kingdoms - Conquest 2008Windows
Safecracker 1997Windows, Macintosh
Spellforce Universe 2007Windows
Spirits & Spells 2003PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube
SuperPower 2 2004Windows
The Crystal Key 2000Windows, Macintosh
The Forgotten: It Begins... 1999Windows
The Guild 2 2006Windows
The Guild 2: Pirates of the High Seas 2007Windows
Traitors Gate2000Macintosh, Windows Publisher
War Leaders: Clash of Nations 2008Windows
Woody Woodpecker: Escape from Buzz Buzzard Park 2001Windows, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color Publisher
World Party Games 2009Wii
Yager (aka Aerial Strike) 2003Windows, Xbox
Yoga Wii 2009Wii

References

External links

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