Digital Anvil
Encyclopedia
Digital Anvil was a computer game company. It was founded in 1996, when Wing Commander
creator Chris Roberts
left Origin Systems, Inc., along with many other employees.
According to Chris Roberts, Digital Anvil was created to bring back the "small-team" element that characterized the computer gaming industry throughout the 1980s. Four titles were initially announced: Conquest: Frontier Wars
, a Command & Conquer
-style game set in space; Loose Cannon, a racing game similar to the later Driver
and Grand Theft Auto
games; Starlancer
, a space combat game in the Wing Commander tradition, and the company's flagship, Freelancer
, an ambitious unofficial follow up to Wing Commander: Privateer.
The first game to be released by Digital Anvil was Starlancer
, developed externally by Warthog Games
. It was, unfortunately, released during an era of declining interest in space-combat, and the game was a financial failure. Two planned sequels were scrapped.
Digital Anvil was purchased by Microsoft
on 5 Dec 2000.
One of the consequences of this action was a reshuffling of titles being developed. Conquest: Frontier Wars and Loose Cannon were dropped by the company, eventually being picked up by Ubisoft Entertainment
. Conquest was eventually released in 2001, but Loose Cannon has not yet been released and it remains doubtful it ever will be. Many of the Digital Anvil staff working on Loose Cannon were reassigned to the company's flagship Freelancer. Brute Force
(still unannounced at the time) was switched from a computer game to an Xbox
exclusive. Of all the projects being produced, only Freelancer escaped major change. Co-founder Chris Roberts left the company after the Microsoft takeover, but he still worked as a consultant on Freelancer.
Digital Anvil also made the visual effects of the 1999 film Wing Commander
(see imdb: Wing Commander (1999) under "Visual Effects by", also in the film's credits).
For the next year, Digital Anvil was mostly silent, and many wondered whether any games from the company would see the light of day. Then, in 2001, Digital Anvil revealed a lighter Freelancer to the gaming press. Although some of the more ambitious elements were dropped, this act proved Freelancer was not vaporware.
In March 2003, Freelancer was released and immediately became one of the month's top-selling games. Reviews were mixed, but the game did well commercially. In May of the same year, Digital Anvil released Brute Force for the Xbox. The game also did quite well, setting first-month sales records for Xbox games.
In November 2005, Microsoft redeployed the developer's employees to its Microsoft Game Studios
headquarters. Digital Anvil was officially dissolved on January 31, 2006.
Key staff from Digital Anvil then teamed up together with staff from Warthog Games
(Now known as Gizmondo
) to form Embryonic Studios, which was later acquired by TT Games
in 2007 to become TT Fusion
.
Wing Commander (franchise)
Wing Commander is a video game media franchise consisting of space combat simulation computer games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures...
creator Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts is a computer game designer, programmer, film producer, and director. He is best known for creating the popular Wing Commander series while employed at Origin Systems.-Early years:...
left Origin Systems, Inc., along with many other employees.
According to Chris Roberts, Digital Anvil was created to bring back the "small-team" element that characterized the computer gaming industry throughout the 1980s. Four titles were initially announced: Conquest: Frontier Wars
Conquest: Frontier Wars
Conquest: Frontier Wars is a real-time strategy engine released in 2001 by Ubisoft and Fever Pitch Studios. The bulk of the development was done at Digital Anvil in Austin, Texas, a startup developer originally owned by Chris Roberts.-Gameplay:...
, a Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer, abbreviated to C&C and also known as Tiberian Dawn, is a 1995 real-time strategy computer game developed by Westwood Studios for MS-DOS and published by Virgin Interactive. It was the first of twelve games to date to be released under the Command & Conquer label, including a...
-style game set in space; Loose Cannon, a racing game similar to the later Driver
Driver (series)
Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games developed by Reflections Interactive , and originally published by GT Interactive and later by Atari. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, driving, and third-person shooting in open world environments...
and Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
games; Starlancer
Starlancer
Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.-Overview:It is the year 2160...
, a space combat game in the Wing Commander tradition, and the company's flagship, Freelancer
Freelancer (video game)
Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999, and following many production schedule mishaps and a buyout of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, it was eventually...
, an ambitious unofficial follow up to Wing Commander: Privateer.
The first game to be released by Digital Anvil was Starlancer
Starlancer
Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.-Overview:It is the year 2160...
, developed externally by Warthog Games
Warthog Games
Warthog Games Limited was a UK-based video game developer, located in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, with studios in Sweden and the USA.The developer later developed titles as Gizmondo Europe, before the company disbanded; and key staff formed Embryonic Studios which later became TT...
. It was, unfortunately, released during an era of declining interest in space-combat, and the game was a financial failure. Two planned sequels were scrapped.
Digital Anvil was purchased by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
on 5 Dec 2000.
One of the consequences of this action was a reshuffling of titles being developed. Conquest: Frontier Wars and Loose Cannon were dropped by the company, eventually being picked up by Ubisoft Entertainment
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
. Conquest was eventually released in 2001, but Loose Cannon has not yet been released and it remains doubtful it ever will be. Many of the Digital Anvil staff working on Loose Cannon were reassigned to the company's flagship Freelancer. Brute Force
Brute Force (video game)
Brute Force is a video game released for the Xbox by Microsoft in 2003. The game is a squad-based third-person shooter that uses four members of a team which fight in numerous battles. These members in the squad include Flint, a sniper, Brutus, a shock trooper, Tex, a heavy assault trooper, and...
(still unannounced at the time) was switched from a computer game to an Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
exclusive. Of all the projects being produced, only Freelancer escaped major change. Co-founder Chris Roberts left the company after the Microsoft takeover, but he still worked as a consultant on Freelancer.
Digital Anvil also made the visual effects of the 1999 film Wing Commander
Wing Commander (film)
Wing Commander is a science fiction film based on the same titled video game series, released in 1999. It was directed by Chris Roberts, the creator of the game series, and stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet and David Warner...
(see imdb: Wing Commander (1999) under "Visual Effects by", also in the film's credits).
For the next year, Digital Anvil was mostly silent, and many wondered whether any games from the company would see the light of day. Then, in 2001, Digital Anvil revealed a lighter Freelancer to the gaming press. Although some of the more ambitious elements were dropped, this act proved Freelancer was not vaporware.
In March 2003, Freelancer was released and immediately became one of the month's top-selling games. Reviews were mixed, but the game did well commercially. In May of the same year, Digital Anvil released Brute Force for the Xbox. The game also did quite well, setting first-month sales records for Xbox games.
In November 2005, Microsoft redeployed the developer's employees to its Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
headquarters. Digital Anvil was officially dissolved on January 31, 2006.
Key staff from Digital Anvil then teamed up together with staff from Warthog Games
Warthog Games
Warthog Games Limited was a UK-based video game developer, located in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, with studios in Sweden and the USA.The developer later developed titles as Gizmondo Europe, before the company disbanded; and key staff formed Embryonic Studios which later became TT...
(Now known as Gizmondo
Gizmondo
The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console which was released by Tiger Telematics in March 2005. The electronics design was undertaken by Plextek Limited and the industrial design by Rick Dickinson....
) to form Embryonic Studios, which was later acquired by TT Games
TT Games
TT Games group is a British video game developer and publisher. It is made up of three divisions, Traveller's Tales, TT Fusion and publisher TT Games Publishing...
in 2007 to become TT Fusion
TT Fusion
TT Fusion is a software house based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England...
.
See also
- Chris RobertsChris RobertsChris Roberts is a computer game designer, programmer, film producer, and director. He is best known for creating the popular Wing Commander series while employed at Origin Systems.-Early years:...
- Freelancer (video game)Freelancer (video game)Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999, and following many production schedule mishaps and a buyout of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, it was eventually...
- Microsoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
- Origin Systems, Inc.
- Wing Commander (computer game)Wing Commander (computer game)Wing Commander is a video game media franchise consisting of space combat simulation computer games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures...
- Brute Force (video game)Brute Force (video game)Brute Force is a video game released for the Xbox by Microsoft in 2003. The game is a squad-based third-person shooter that uses four members of a team which fight in numerous battles. These members in the squad include Flint, a sniper, Brutus, a shock trooper, Tex, a heavy assault trooper, and...