Ion Storm

Ion Storm Inc. (also known as ION Storm) was a Texas based developer of computer games that was founded by John Romero, Tom Hall, Jerry O'Flaherty and Todd Porter in Dallas on November 15, 1996.

The company was divided into two branches; the main office in Dallas, and another office in Austin. The expensive Dallas office sat on the top floor of the 54-story Chase Tower and produced two games(Anachronox and Daikatana), which were heavily hyped over their long development as well as Dominion which was quietly released before either of them.

Anachronox received critical acclaim for its vast storyline and characters while Daikatana was critically savaged as a below-average 3D shooter. Both games were commercially unsuccessful.

Romero, who headed the Dallas office, was widely criticised in particular for the extravagance of the operation compared to the eventual output.

The Austin branch, however, was more successful. Under Warren Spector, it developed the highly successful and critically acclaimed Deus Ex with a staff gathered in part of ex-Looking Glass Studios employees.

Romero and Hall left the company after producing Anachronox in July 2001. A grand total of four games had been released in the four and a half years of the company's existence. Later that year, Eidos Interactive, owner of Ion Storm, closed the Dallas offices.

The Austin office remained open, led by Spector until his departure to "pursue personal interests outside the company" in 2004. A number of other senior staff also left at about the same time. On February 9, 2005, Eidos announced that the Austin office would also close, bringing Ion Storm's history to an end.