Red Storm Entertainment

Red Storm Entertainment
Subsidiary of Ubisoft
Industry Computer and video games
Founded 1996
Founder Tom Clancy, Doug Littlejohns
Headquarters Cary, North Carolina, U.S.
Key people
Tom Clancy, Doug Littlejohns, Steve Reid, Christian Allen
Products Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series
Owner Ubisoft
Number of employees
130+
Parent Ubisoft
Website Red Storm Entertainment's official website

Red Storm Entertainment[1] (also known as Ubisoft Red Storm) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ubisoft, specialising in video games and related merchandise, mainly based on the works of writer Tom Clancy. The company develops and markets their own video games, and is currently located in Cary, North Carolina.

History

Tom Clancy and Doug Littlejohns, a British Royal Navy submarine captain, founded Red Storm Entertainment in 1996. Originally part of Virtus, the company released its first game – Tom Clancy's Politika, the first in the Power Plays series – in 1997. Based in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, Red Storm quickly gained a reputation with games like Dominant Species, one of the first 3D realtime strategy games. However, it was with Rainbow Six (1998) that the company firmly established itself commercially. In contrast to the run-and-gun first person shooters (FPS) that had gone before, Rainbow Six was the first true tactical FPS, a game that rewarded patience and planning as well as good aim and a keen eye. Developed alongside the novel of the same name, Rainbow Six introduced terms like "one shot, one kill" and "tango down" into the gamer lexicon. Its ground-breaking multiplayer action, including a new form of cooperative gameplay, set the standard for tactical multiplayer.

Red Storm followed on the success of Rainbow Six with a mission pack, Eagle Watch, and then in 2000 with a sequel, Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. The company also expanded into turn-based strategy (ruthless.com and Shadow Watch) and military RTS (Force 21). In August 2000, Ubisoft purchased the studio.[2] At the time of the sale, Red Storm was already producing Ghost Recon.

Released in 2001, Ghost Recon won multiple "Game of the Year" awards. The Xbox version also marked the first time RSE ventured into in-house console development, and was the first Xbox Live title to truly take advantage of the possibilities of console multiplayer. Follow-up add-ons like Island Thunder continued to expand the world of the Ghosts, while Red Storm itself grew and moved offices to a new location in Morrisville, North Carolina. By 2003, Ubisoft was ready to consolidate its North Carolina operations. Ubisoft's other area studio, Sinister Games in downtown Raleigh, was integrated into Red Storm, with the central base of operations remaining at the Morrisville location.

In 2004, Red Storm released Ghost Recon 2, the follow-up to the original game, designed by now Lead Designer Christian Allen. Delivered on Xbox, it signaled the company's transition to primarily console development. It produced an add-on, Summit Strike, in 2005, which moved the action to Kazakhstan, as well as downloadable content, something which would become a hallmark of the franchise. More recently, Red Storm has developed the multiplayer aspects of both iterations of the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series. It won the BAFTA's Game of the Year and Best Technical Achievement awards in 2006.

Games developed by Red Storm Entertainment

PC games

Year Game Platform(s) Note(s)
1997 Tom Clancy's Politika Microsoft Windows
1998 Dominant Species Microsoft Windows
Tom Clancy's ruthless.com Microsoft Windows
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64
1999 Aironauts PlayStation
Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch Microsoft Windows Expansion pack for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear Microsoft Windows, Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation co-developed with Ubisoft Milan
Force 21 Microsoft Windows
2000 Bang! Gunship Elite Win, Sega Dreamcast
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear: Urban Operations Microsoft Windows First expansion pack for Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear: Covert Ops Microsoft Windows Second expansion pack for Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Shadow Watch Microsoft Windows
Freedom: First Resistance Microsoft Windows
2001 Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear: Black Thorn Microsoft Windows Third expansion pack for Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube First game developed after being acquired by Ubisoft
2002 Ghost Recon: Desert Siege First expansion pack for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Ghost Recon: Island Thunder Win, Xbox Second expansion pack for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
The Sum of All Fears Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf PlayStation
2003 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield Microsoft Windows Co-developed with Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Montreal)
2004 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm PlayStation 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
2005 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown Win, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike Xbox
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield: Athena Sword Microsoft Windows Co-developed with Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Montreal)
2006 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Xbox 360
2007 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
America's Army: True Soldiers Xbox 360
2008 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield: Iron Wrath Microsoft Windows Co-developed with Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Montreal)
2012 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Co-developed with Ubisoft Paris
Far Cry 3 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Co-developed with Ubisoft Montreal
2014 Far Cry 4 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Co-developed with Ubisoft Montreal
2016 Tom Clancy's The Division Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Co-developed with Ubisoft Massive
Werewolves Within[3] Major virtual reality platforms

References

  • Triangle Business Journal - Red Storm, Epic Games growing in vibrant Triangle sector, by Amanda Jones Hoyle Friday, January 30, 2009

External links

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