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The Darkness

Starbreeze Studios turns 10

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In 1998 O3 Games was started in Uppsala, north of Stockholm. They created the science fiction themed RTS The Outforce, and in 2001 they merged with Starbreeze from Härnösand. Starbreeze brought the project Enclave into the studio - a game released for Xbox in 2002 and a year later on PC. The studio still based in Uppsala took the name Starbreeze Studios and in the spring of 2004 Knights of the Temple was released on PC, Gamecube, Playstation 2 and Xbox. Meanwhile Starbreeze had also been working on Enclave II but the project was cancelled.

Their biggest project to date The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004 on Xbox, 2005 on PC) was looking fantastic, but the movie had bombed in the box office and the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, when they landed a deal with Majesco in the summer of 2004 to make a game based on the comic The Darkness. Eventhough the publisher changed to Take Two (2K Games) on The Darkness it was this project that saved Starbreeze Studios at a time when many Swedish game developers were struggling - Amuze and UDS disappeared and Grin were living dangerously.

Thanks to The Darkness and the sequel to critically acclaimed The Chronicles of Riddick Starbreeze has been able to grow the last few years, and they are currently putting the finishing touches to The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (still no word on a new publisher) and also working on what could very well be their biggest game to date - the rebirth of a classic but unnamed EA franchise (codenamed Project RedLime). It is rumoured to be a new Syndicate, but System Shock has also been mentioned. According to the latest we have heard the game won't be officially announced for quite some time.

Starbreeze Game-o-graphy:

(pre-history: Into the Shadows [cancelled] - developed by several key members of what became Starbreeze)
2000 - The Outforce developed as O3 Games
2002 - Enclave
Cancelled - Enclave II
2004 - Knights of the Temple
2004 - The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
2007 - The Darkness
2008/2009 - The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
2009/2010 - Project RedLime

The Darkness

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