JoWooD Entertainment

JoWooD Entertainment AG
Industry Computer and video game industry
Fate Publishing label of Nordic Games GmbH
Founded 1995
Founders Andreas Tobler, Hans Schilcher,
Defunct 2011
Headquarters Rottenmann, Austria
Products Gothic series
Painkiller series
SpellForce series
The Guild series
Owner Independent (Aktiengesellschaft)
(1995–2011)
Subsidiaries DreamCatcher Interactive

JoWooD Entertainment AG, JoWooD Productions, JoWooD Productions Software AG or just simply JoWooD was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games GmbH. The JoWooD Entertainment brand is currently being used as a publishing label for Nordic Games GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games Holding.

Their games include the futuristic racing car game Beam Breakers which was released in 2002, action roleplaying games in the Gothic series, the Spellforce series, and the Industry Giant series of games. Other titles include Transport Giant, World War III: Black Gold, The Sting!, Hotel Giant, and other games of the Giants series. They also released Sam & Max and Neighbours from Hell. They also worked on AquaNox: Angel's Tears for the PlayStation 2.

History

JoWooD Productions Software AG was founded in 1995 in Ebensee by Dieter Bernauer, Johann Reitinger, Johann Schilcher and Andreas Tobler with its headquarters later moved to Liezen, Austria. It owned five subsidiaries in the last years: DreamCatcher Interactive, JoWooD Distribution Services, JoWooD Deutschland, JoWooD Iberica and Quantic Lab.

In August 2005, JoWood attempted to end their development agreement with developer Perception Pty because of a lack of quality on their "Stargate SG-1" product.[1] JoWood carried out this action believing they owned the licence for the game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, which was disputed by Perception.[2] On 4 November 4, 2006, JoWooD announced the acquisition of DreamCatcher Games, in efforts to move to the North American gaming markets.[3] In October 2009 it was announced that JoWooD has changed its name from JoWooD Productions Software AG to JoWooD Entertainment AG.[4] At the same time JoWood also announced an agreement has been established between them and Valve Corporation to make future JoWooD titles available via Steam.[4]

On 7 January 2011, JoWooD officially filed for bankruptcy and announced that the company would prepare for "a procedure of capital reorganization".[5] However, on 21 April 2011, JoWooD announced that, unable to negotiate with potential investors, they were officially facing bankruptcy proceedings and had withdrawn their application for a recapitalization plan.[6] In June 2011, JoWooD Entertainment all their assets and its subsidiary, Quantic Lab, was acquired by Nordic Games Holding AB. From this point on, JoWooD was no longer operating. All activities of the two companies were taken over by Nordic Games Holding.[7] On August 16, 2011 Nordic Games Holding announced that it had acquired JoWooD's products and brands and some of the companies labels, including The Adventure Company.[8] Following the acquisition it was announced that JoWood and the Adventure Company would become publishing labels for Nordic Games GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games Holding.[9]

In April 2013, Nordic Games GmbH acquired the remaining properties still owned by the bankrupt American video game publisher THQ as part of the company's liquidation, including the Darksiders, Red Faction, and MX vs. ATV franchises. Nordic has stated it plans to find new distribution channels for some of its newly acquired properties, and is considering the third-party development of sequels.[10]

In the year 2014 the company Touchit Studio entered into a partnership with JoWood Entertainment, and rewriting all the rights of the game Neighbours From Hell in the distribution and editing in the Company Touchit Studio.

Touchit Studio was founded in Germany in the year 2009 by programmer and teacher John Doe.

Games published

Title Release date Platform(s) Developer(s)
Industry Giant April 14, 1998 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Alien Nations[11] May 11, 1999 Microsoft Windows Neo Software Produktions GmbH
Panzer Elite October 26, 1999 [12] Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Thandor: The Invasion December 1, 2000 Microsoft Windows Innonics
Traffic Giant February 28, 2001 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
The Nations June 15, 2001 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
The Sting! July 1, 2001 Microsoft Windows Neo Software Produktions GmbH
Zax: The Alien Hunter October 9, 2001 Microsoft Windows Reflexive Entertainment
Rally Trophy November 20, 2001 Microsoft Windows Bugbear Entertainment
AquaNox November 30, 2001 Microsoft Windows Massive Development
Hard Truck 2: King of the Road June 7, 2002 [13] Microsoft Windows SoftLab-NSK
Arx Fatalis June 28, 2002 Microsoft Windows Arkane Studios
December 23, 2003 Xbox Wizarbox
Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard [14] August 26, 2002 Microsoft Windows Funatics Development GmbH
Michael Schumacher Racing World Kart 2002 September 18, 2002 Microsoft Windows Radon Labs
PlayStation
Industry Giant II September 30, 2002 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Beam Breakers October 10, 2002 Microsoft Windows Similis Software GmbH
Archangel October 18, 2002 Microsoft Windows Metropolis Software
Europa 1400: The Guild October 25, 2002 Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
The Nations Nations Gold Edition / The Nations 2 November 16, 2002 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Gothic II November 29, 2002 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
K-Hawk: Survival Instinct [15] December 10, 2002 Microsoft Windows Similis Software GmbH
Cold Zero: The Last Stand April 13, 2003 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Neighbours from Hell June 20, 2003 [16] Microsoft Windows
March 4, 2005 GameCube
Xbox
Gothic II: Night of the Raven - Expansion Pack August 22, 2003 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
AquaNox 2: Revelation August 22, 2003 Microsoft Windows Massive Development
Chaser August 30, 2003 Microsoft Windows Cauldron
Cold Zero: No Mercy [17] October 22, 2003 Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Railroad Pioneer [18] October 29, 2003 [19] Microsoft Windows Kritzelkratz 3000
Silent Storm October 31, 2003 [20] Microsoft Windows Nival Interactive
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn November 28, 2003 [21] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Söldner: Secret Wars May 27, 2004 Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Transport Giant June 8, 2004 [22] Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
SpellForce: Breath of Winter - Expansion Pack June 24, 2004 [23] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
SpellForce: The Shadow of the Phoenix - Expansion Pack November 2004 [24] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Söldner: Secret Wars Reloaded November 11, 2004 Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Söldner: Marine Corps - Expansion Pack February 25, 2005 [25] Microsoft Windows Wings Simulations
Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation March 27, 2006 [26] Microsoft Windows JoWooD Entertainment
Legend of Kay [27] March 2, 2005 PlayStation 2 Neon Studios
SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars April 20, 2006 Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
The Guild 2 [28] September 29, 2006 Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Gothic 3 [29] October 13, 2006 Microsoft Windows Piranha Bytes
Freak Out: Extreme Freeride March 30, 2007 [30] PlayStation 2 ColdWood Interactive
August 28, 2007 Microsoft Windows
SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm May 14, 2007 [31] Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
The Guild 2 - Pirates of The European Sea - Stand-alone expansion pack [32][33] May 18, 2007 [34] Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Space Force: Rogue Universe June 5, 2007 [35] Microsoft Windows Provox Games
SpellForce Universe Edition - Collection pack [36] October 15, 2007 Microsoft Windows Phenomic Game Development
Gothic Universe Edition - Collection pack [37] October 15, 2007 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
Painkiller: Overdose October 30, 2007 Microsoft Windows Mindware Studios
Gothic 3: The Beginning January 15, 2008 Java ME Handy-Games GmbH
The Golden Horde [38] March 28, 2008 Microsoft Windows World Forge
Painkiller Universe - Collection Pack [39] July 8, 2008 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
The Guild 2 - Venice - Stand-alone Expansion Pack October 7, 2008 Microsoft Windows Trine Games [40]
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods - Expansion Pack November 21, 2008 Microsoft Windows Trine Games
Mad Vulture Games
Painkiller: Resurrection October 27, 2009 Microsoft Windows HomeGrown Games
Yoga for Wii November 27, 2009 Nintendo Wii Trine Games
Torchlight [41] April 9, 2010 Microsoft Windows Runic Games
Arcania: Gothic 4 October 12, 2010 Microsoft Windows Spellbound Entertainment
Xbox 360 Black Forest Games
September 2011 PlayStation 3
The Guild 2 - Renaissance - Stand-alone expanded edition October 19, 2010 [42] Microsoft Windows 4HEAD Studios
Painkiller: Redemption February 25, 2011 Microsoft Windows DreamCatcher Interactive
SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny June 19, 2012 Microsoft Windows Trine Games [40]
Mind Over Matter

References

  1. ↑ Jowood Terminates Development Agreement with Perception - PC News at GameSpot
  2. ↑ "Video Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, Reviews, News & Videos - IGN". IGN. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Aktuelle Aussendungen". euro adhoc - IR-Kommunikation. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Rietumu Guide". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  5. ↑ GameZone. "JoWooD Entertainment Files for Bankruptcy". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "JoWood: Sanierungsverfahren gescheitert, Publisher ist am Ende". PC GAMES. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "JoWooD - Now Swedish … sort of! - RPGWatch Forums". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "JoWooD & The Adventure Company, wholly owned labels of Nordic Games GmbH.". Nordic Games. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  9. ↑ "Nordic Games Holding AB Group Acquires JoWood & The Adventure Company". Nordic Games. 2011-08-16. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  10. ↑ "The future of Darksiders, Red Faction and THQ's other IP at Nordic Games". Polygon. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Alien Nations - PC". IGN. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Panzer Elite - PC". IGN. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Some Information news - Hard Truck 2: King of the Road Game". ModDB. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "K-Hawk: Survival Instinct". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Neighbours from Hell: Revenge is a Sweet Game (PC CD)". Amazon. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Cold Zero: No Mercy". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Railroad Pioneer - Content". Kritzelkratz 3000 GmbH. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "KRITZELKRATZ 3000 - Game Development". Kritzelkratz 3000 GmbH. Archived from the original on 11 May 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Storm is coming! - JoWooD News Archive". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Welcome at Phenomic Game Development - Latest News". Phenomic Game Development. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Transport Giant on Steam". Steam. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "SpellForce Breath of Winter in UK stores today!". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "SpellForce News Archive". JoWooD Entertainment. Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Solder: Marine Corps". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Neighbours from Hell: On Vacation". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  27. ↑ PAL version of the PlayStation 2 release. Published in North America by Capcom. "Capcom Release Date Info". Capcom. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  28. ↑ In cooperation with Deep Silver. "The Guild 2 - DEEP SILVER". Capcom. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  29. ↑ EU release in affiliation with Deep Silver. NA release by Aspyr Media.
  30. ↑ "Release Data - Freak Out: Extreme Freeride". GameFAQs. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  32. ↑ EU release. Released in AU by N3VRF41L Publishing and in the US by DreamCatcher Interactive.
  33. ↑ Also released under the name The Guild 2: Pirates of the High Seas. "The Guild 2: Pirates of the High Seas for PC". GameFAQs. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  34. ↑ Initially delayed due to logistical issues. "Die Gilde 2: Release des AddOns wurde verschoben" [The Guild 2: Release of the add-ons has been delayed] (in German). Spieletipps. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Space Force: Rogue Universe". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  36. ↑ "SpellForce Universe Edition". IGN. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  37. ↑ "Details and Credits - Gothic Universe". MetaCritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  38. ↑ EU region. RU release by Russobit-M
  39. ↑ "Painkiller Universe". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  40. 1 2 "Trine Entertainment Ltd. - Games". Trine Games. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  41. ↑ EU retail version. "Torchlight Release Information". GameFAQs. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  42. ↑ "The Guild 2: Renaissance". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.

External links

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