Iconic Gamedev Studios of the 90s and How They Disappeared
The history of computer games isn't only about fondly-remembered titles and their sequels, but also about the studios and publishers behind them. Let's recall those most notable companies from the 1990s that, for various reasons, failed to survive.
Table of Contents
- Iconic Gamedev Studios of the 90s and How They Disappeared
- MicroProse
- Origin Systems
- Psygnosis
- Bullfrog Productions
- Sensible Software
- Westwood Studios
- Strategic Simulations, Inc. (aka SSI)
- Interplay Productions / Interplay Entertainment
- LucasArts Entertainment
- Other notable studios
Psygnosis
What we remember it for: Lemmings, Shadow of the Beast, Wipeout
Years active: 1984–1999
British studio Psygnosis, with their funky owl in the logo, was founded in 1984; first focused on creating their own games, they later pivoted to become a publisher. You could say their specialization for a while were games with increasingly revolutionary graphics and a high level of difficulty. The first memorable releases were Barbarian, which took full advantage of the capabilities of Atari ST and Amiga, and Shadow of the Beast – the game that pretty much served as Amiga's technical demonstration of graphics quality.
But Psygnosis's biggest hit was a game that the company only published. Of course, it was the iconic Lemmings and its numerous sequels and evolutions in 3D. In 1993, the British company became a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. Back then, many significant titles with the owl logo released on PlayStation, including Wipeout, Formula One, Colony Wars and Destruction Derby.
DMA Design – from Lemmings to Grand Theft Auto
So, if Psygnosis published it, then who developed the Lemmings franchise? It was DMA Design studio, or the future creators of Grand Theft Auto! That's right – the company that we know today as Rockstar North. Other than that, they also gave us a popular Amiga shooter called Walker.
How did the studio disappear?
In 1999, Sony became increasingly concerned with controlling the company more directly. And since this was just part of the deal with SCE Europe, the part of Psygnosis team related to sales and marketing became redundant. A year later, the Japanese changed the company's name to SCE Studio Liverpool. They have created many games for the PlayStation under this banner. Due to major restructuring at Sony, the studio was closed in 2012. Psygnosis theoretically still exists as a brand owned by Sony, which periodically renews the rights to the titles and logotypes, but as of 2012 it doesn't develop games anymore.
