Heavy Iron Studios

Heavy Iron Studios, Inc. (formerly Chemistry Entertainment)[1] is an American video game developer based in Manhattan Beach, California. The studio was founded by Steve Gray, he would then sell the company and it would be renamed while also becoming an internal studio of THQ on August 31, 1999.[3] Then following several cost reduction efforts, THQ announced had that they would spun off Heavy Iron Studios to become an independent company, becoming effective on June 1, 2009.[3][4] Following several years of being an independent company, the studio has been acquired by Keywords Studios for US$13.3 million, in September 2020, which was occurred in January 2021.[2][5]

Heavy Iron Studios, Inc.
FormerlyChemistry Entertainment
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedAugust 31, 1999 (1999-08-31)
FounderSteve Gray[1]
Headquarters
Manhattan Beach, California
,
US
Key people
Lyle Hall (President & CEO)
Products
Number of employees
43 (2020)[2]
Parent
Websiteheavyiron.games

History

The studio was founded under the name Chemistry Entertainment by Steve Gray, who previously worked at a number of visual effects companies like Robert Abel and Associates and Digital Domain, ran the Software Tools Group and built the first Motion Capture Lab for EA Canada, and was the uncredited general manager on the American side of the development team of Parasite Eve for Square. Most of its early staff came from the American team of Parasite Eve, and for a while partnered with Canadian company Rainmaker Digital Effects in addition to doing work on a number of unreleased games. Eventually they were hired by THQ to work on a game based on the Evil Dead franchise, and while on its early stages of development, on August 31, 1999, Steve Gray sold the company to THQ where it was renamed as Heavy Iron Studios. Their first game, Evil Dead: Hail to the King, was released in late 2000.[1][6]

In 2001, Steve Gray left to work back on EA, and Lyle Hall took over his position as the company's manager. Afterwards they were ordered to only work on licensed games based on franchises owned by THQ, most notably SpongeBob SquarePants and various Pixar movies, many of which received generally mixed to favorable reviews and were huge financial successes. In 2004, Heavy Iron received an Outstanding Impact nomination and won a Best Team award from THQ for their work on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and The Incredibles, both released that same year.

As a result of financial troubles and a cost reduction effort, THQ announced on March 17, 2009, that Heavy Iron would be spun off as an independent company, which was effective on June 1, 2009, with Lyle Hall being named as both its president and chief executive officer. During this period, their staff was reduced from 120 to 60 employees following several rounds of layoffs.[7] SpongeBob's Truth or Square was their first game finished and released as an independent company in October 2009. Since then they have worked on a variety of games for other publishers, usually in the position of a support studio. In 2015, they released their first fully original game, Fat City.

On September 17, 2020, it was announced that Heavy Iron would be acquired by Keywords Studios for US$13.3 million. The acquisition was completed on January 13, 2021.[8]

Games developed
Year Released TitlePlatform(s)
2000 Evil Dead: Hail to the KingMicrosoft Windows, Dreamcast, PlayStation
2002 Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 FrightsXbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube
2003 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini BottomXbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube
2004 The SpongeBob SquarePants MovieXbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube
The IncrediblesXbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
2005 The Incredibles: Rise of the UnderminerXbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
2007 RatatouilleXbox 360, PlayStation 3
2008 WALL-EXbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
2009 UpXbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
SpongeBob's Truth or SquareXbox 360, Wii
2011 UFC Personal TrainerXbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
2012 Family Guy: Back to the MultiverseMicrosoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Harley Pasternak's Hollywood WorkoutXbox 360, Wii
2015 Fat CityMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, OS X, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation VR, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch
2017 Amazon Odyssey[9]Microsoft Windows (Requires HTC Vive)
2020 PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel BattleStadia

Games co-developed
Year Released TitlePlatform(s)
2007 RatatouilleMicrosoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii
2008 WALL-EMicrosoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
2009 UpMicrosoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
2012 Epic Mickey 2: The Power of TwoWii U
2013 Disney InfinityWii U, Wii
2014 South Park: The Stick of TruthMicrosoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super HeroesMicrosoft Windows, Wii U, iOS
Disney Infinity: Toy BoxMicrosoft Windows, iPad
2015 Disney Infinity 3.0Microsoft Windows, Wii U, iOS
2016 Call of Duty: Infinite WarfareMicrosoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
The Martian VR ExperienceMicrosoft Windows (Requires either HTC Vive or Oculus Rift), PlayStation VR
2017 Call of Duty: WWIIMicrosoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Road RageMicrosoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
DreadnoughtMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4
2018 Ocean Casino iOS, Android
H1Z1[10] PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
Star Wars: Jedi Challenges iOS, Android
2019 The Grand Tour GameXbox One, PlayStation 4
2020 Marvel's Avengers Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Stadia
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5

Cancelled games
Year TitlePlatform(s)Notes
2000 Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights PlayStation Early version of the game with a different plot and gameplay style.[11]
2007 Toy Story 3 Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii Early rejected version. Final game was developed by Avalanche Software.[12][13][14]
2008 SpongeBob SquarePants: Happiness Squared PlayStation 2, Wii Altered and retooled into SpongeBob's Truth or Square.[15]
2010 Saints Row: The Cooler Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Fighting game spin-off of the Saints Row series that required the Kinect/PlayStation Move.[16][17]
Disney’s E-Ticket Xbox 360 Early rejected version of what eventually became Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, developed by Frontier Developments.[18][19][20]
Family Guy: Road to Death Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Altered and retooled into Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse.[21][22][23]
2011 Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse Wii, Nintendo 3DS Alternative versions of the game for Nintendo consoles with a different gameplay style.[24]

References
  1. "The Interview: Steve Gray". October 14, 2010. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. "KEYWORDS AGREES TO ACQUIRE HEAVY IRON, EXPANDING GAME DEVELOPMENT SERVICES". Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. "Heavy Iron Studios, Inc. Celebrates its 10th Anniversary!". Heavy Iron Studios. May 31, 2019.
  4. Radd, David (March 17, 2009). "THQ Spinning Off Two Developers, Potentially Closing Another". GameDaily. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  5. "Keywords splashes $13.3m on Heavy Iron Studios acquisition". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. "Evil Dead: Hail to the King". May 12, 2000. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  7. "Rumor: Big Layoffs At Heavy Iron Studios [Update]". December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  8. "Keywords Studios completes $13.3 million acquisition of Heavy Iron Studios". Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  9. "Amazon Odyssey". Heavy Iron Studios; Vive Studios. October 26, 2017. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018 – via Steam.
  10. "H1Z1". Heavy Iron Studios. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  11. "Proto:Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights". tcrf.net. The Cutting Room Floor. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  12. "Toy Story [PS3/X360/Wii – Tech Demo]". Unseen64. September 17, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  13. "Toy Story 3 (Xbox 360) demo". March 27, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  14. "Toy Story 3 Prototype (Xbox 360)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  15. "Sponge Bob early video game demo". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  16. Robertson, Liam (September 29, 2014). "Saints Row: The Cooler [Cancelled – Xbox 360, PS3]". Unseen64. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  17. "SAINTS ROW: THE COOLER demo (unreleased)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  18. Robertson, Liam (September 29, 2014). "Disney's E-Ticket [Xbox 360 - Prototype]". Unseen64. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  19. "Prototype Xbox 360 Disneyland E-Ticket Kinect". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  20. "Prototype Xbox 360 Disneyland E-Ticket Kinect - Jungle Cuise". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  21. "Family Guy: Road to Death (Xbox 360)". March 27, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  22. "Family Guy: Road to Death Prototype". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  23. "Family Guy: Road to Death trailer". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  24. Robertson, Liam (October 11, 2014). "Family Guy: Back To The Multiverse [Cancelled – 3DS / Wii]". Unseen64. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
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