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Piranha Games Inc. is a Canadian computer game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was founded by two members Russ Bullock President and Executive Producer and Bryan Ekman, VP and Creative Director. Piranha Games is one of the oldest independent game developers in the Vancouver area.
History[]
During the fall of 1999 three entrepreneurs set out to create a Half-Life mod called Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (DH:NP) (originally started by Jason Holtslander). After working together for a few months the team received a letter from Fox Interactive requiring all work on the mod cease and desist. Russ, Bryan and Jason used this event as a catalyst to pursue their dreams of starting a new development studio and turning Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza into a full product for the PC platform.
Piranha Games Inc. was officially founded on January 22, 2000 by Russ Bullock, Bryan Ekman, and Jason Holtslander in Vancouver, with an initial infusion of private funding. After an 8 month period of creating demos for Fox Interactive, a deal was struck in August 2000, and Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza was officially under production.
The Early Years 2000-2002[]
Work began in earnest on DH:NP mid August, 2000. The team doubled in size from six developers to twelve and moved into its new office location in Downtown Vancouver. Production on DH:NP moved along steadily through the winter and into 2001 in preparation for E3 2001. After a modest E3 showing, DH:NP continued development, targeting a fall release date. Crunching hard for the next 6 months, with the team exhausted and the ownership at odds with each other, the game's ship date slipped into spring 2002. During the summer and fall of 2001, after nearly a year of friction between the three principals, Jason Holtslander was bought out by the remaining principals.
With the departure of Jason, Piranha refocused its energy towards finishing DH:NP and expanding the business into the casual space through the creation of a new label and company called Jarhead Games. In the spring of 2002 DH:NP was released.
The Dormant Years 2002-2005[]
After the release of Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza and the focus on Jarhead Games, the Piranha Games label was put into a dormant state. Jarhead Games proceeded to design and develop over 13 titles for the PC.
Present Day 2005-[]
In the summer of 2005 Piranha Games began working on an unannounced next generation title. It has since been revealed that this is a new Mechwarrior game.[1] In the spring of 2007, Piranha Games was contracted to work on EA Playground for the Nintendo DS and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for the PSP.
Piranha Games has been contracted to work with Gearbox Software to assist in the development of Duke Nukem Forever.
Games[]
- Duke Nukem Forever (PC, X360, PS3)
- MechWarrior (reboot) (PC, X360)
- Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (PC)
- EA Playground (DS)
- Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (PSP)
- Need For Speed: Undercover (PSP)
Sister Company[]
- Jarhead Games
References[]
Template:Vancouver Corporations