Underground Development

Underground Development
Subsidiary of Activision
Industry Computer and video games
Founded 1994
Defunct February 11, 2010
Headquarters Redwood Shores, California
Owner Activision Blizzard
Parent Activision
Website Underground Development Homepage

Underground Development (formerly known as Z-Axis Games) was a video game developer founded in 1994 by David Luntz. The first game they began developing was Madden NFL '96 for the Sega Genesis.[1] The studio continued to make primarily sports and extreme sport games for the rest of its career. The first extreme sports game Z-Axis created was Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, published by Rockstar Games.

They were later acquired by Activision in May 2002, and in 2005 Z-Axis relocated to Foster City, California.[2] In early 2008, the studio was renamed to Underground Development in response to changes in both direction and personnel. On April 19, 2008, parent company Activision announced that the studio would close after completing development on the PlayStation 3 version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.[3] However, the studio remained open and moved to a new office in the Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, California[4] in February 2009.

Activision closed the studio on February 11, 2010 as part of a cost-cutting plan under Vivendi.

The final Z-Axis Games logo

Developed games (as Z-Axis Games)

Game title Year released Platform(s) Notes
Madden NFL '96 1996 Sega Genesis The first game created by Z-Axis
Fox Sports College Hoops '99 1998 Nintendo 64
Rollerball Cancelled Planned for release in on the N64 during or after 1998. It was based on the movie Rollerball.
Alexi Lalas International Soccer 1999 PlayStation Released as "Three Lions" in Europe.

European edition was also released for the Game Boy Color.

Space Invaders 1999 PlayStation
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo 64
A redesigned 3D version of the arcade classic.
Thrasher presents Skate and Destroy 1999 PlayStation
Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana 2000 PlayStation
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2000 PlayStation
Game Boy Color
Dreamcast
Microsoft Windows
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 2001 PlayStation 2
GameCube
Game Boy Advance
Xbox
GameCube and Xbox versions contain extra content not found in Game Boy and PS2 versions.
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix 2001 PlayStation Contained both Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 1 and 2, but added extra levels, characters, and other content.
Aggressive Inline 2002 PlayStation 2

GameCube
GBA
Xbox

BMX XXX 2002 PlayStation 2
GameCube
Xbox
X-Men: The Official Game 2006 PlayStation 2
Xbox
Xbox 360

Developed games (as Underground Development)

References

  1. "Z-Axis Games - IGN". IGN.com. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  2. "Activision’S Z-Axis Moves Headquarters To Foster City To Accommodate Expansion Plans". Armchairempire.com. 2005-02-10. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  3. "Activision confirms Underground closure". Gamesindustry.biz. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  4. "Underground Development website". Undergrounddev.com. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  5. "Terry Allen's Portfolio". Pixelanium.com. 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2011-11-15.

External links


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