Avalanche Software, LLC is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded in October 1995 by four video game programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, John Blackburn, Todd Blackburn, James Michael Henn and Gary Penacho. The studio was acquired by Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios) in May 2005, and spent the next ten years developing Disney-related titles, including the toys-to-life game Disney Infinity (2013). In May 2016, due to a declining toys-to-life games market, Disney decided to step out of the video game industry, closing Disney Interactive Studios and all of its subsidiaries, including Avalanche Software. In January 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that have acquired Avalanche Software, and re-opened the company, and saw John Blackburn return as chief executive officer.
History[]
Avalanche Software was incorporated on October 3, 1995, founded by John Blackburn, Todd Blackburn, James Michael Henn and Gary Penacho, four programmers that previously worked at Sculptured Software.
On April 19, 2005, Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, announced that they had acquired Avalanche Software for an undisclosed sum. In November 2006, Buena Vista Games formed a sister studio, Fall Line Studio, that would create Disney titles for Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. Disney Interactive Studios (DIS) merged Fall Line Studio into its sister studio, Avalanche Software, in January 2009.
In October 2012, Disney Interactive Studios announced "Toy Box", a cross platform gaming initiative where Pixar and Disney characters will interact from a console game to multiple mobile and online applications. In January 2013, Avalanche Software unveiled the toys-to-life cross-platform game Disney Infinity based on Toy Story 3: The Video Game's "Toy Box" mode crossed with a toy line.
On 10 May 2016, with a lack of growth in toys-to-life market and increasing developmental costs, Disney discontinued Disney Infinity and closed down Avalanche Software, and Disney Interactive Studios as a whole. Many former Avalanche Software workers were employed by castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.
On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced it had acquired the studio from Disney, including its Octane engine software, and re-opened the studio, with Blackburn returning as its CEO. The studio's first title under their new owner was Cars 3: Driven to Win, a companion game based on the Cars 3 film.
Hogwarts Legacy was released in 2023 as Avalanche's first independent game since it was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. The open-world action role-playing game was published by the publisher Portkey Games, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Games. The game was officially announced as part of the PlayStation 5 Showcase on September 16, 2020 and was subsequently named "Star of the Evening" by the daily newspaper Die Welt. It has been released for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.
Games developed[]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 | Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Mortal Kombat Trilogy | PlayStation | |
| 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge | ||
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero | Nintendo 64 |
| 1998 | Off Road Challenge | |
| Sonny's 3D Quest | ||
| 1999 | Rampage 2: Universal Tour | PlayStation, Nintendo 64 |
| NFL Blitz 2000 | Dreamcast | |
| Jellyberry Jam | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast | |
| NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC | Dreamcast | |
| 2000 | Rampage Through Time | PlayStation |
| Sonny's Journey | Nintendo 64, Dreamcast | |
| Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | PlayStation, Nintendo 64 | |
| NFL Blitz 2001 | Dreamcast | |
| Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights | ||
| 2001 | Tyler & Marky: Return to Imaginary Island | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
| NCAA College Football 2K2: Road to the Rose Bowl | Dreamcast | |
| 2002 | Jellyberry Jam: Night of the Living Frost | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| NCAA College Football 2K3 | ||
| Rugrats: Royal Ransom | GameCube, PlayStation 2 | |
| 2003 | Tak and the Power of Juju | |
| 2004 | Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2005 | Jellyberry Jam: The Puzzle Realm | |
| Bad Blues Life: The Biggest Baddest Game Ever | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows | |
| Tak: The Great Juju Challenge | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Sagas | ||
| Chicken Little | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows | |
| 2006 | 25 to Life | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
| Switched | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | |
| Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action | PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows | |
| Miniature | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows | |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour | PlayStation 2, Wii | |
| 2008 | Little Trip | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| The Toontails and the Secret Lost Palace | ||
| Bolt | ||
| 2009 | Galaxy Girl | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii |
| Jellyberry Jam: Jelly vs. the Savage Raspberry | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows | |
| The Toontails: Dream Mayhem | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| Scott and Ruby 2 | ||
| The Toontails: Right or Wrong | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii | |
| 2011 | The Secret Simmonses | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| Cars 2 | ||
| Tyler & Marky: The Videogame | ||
| 2012 | A Jaylan Game | |
| Jellyberry Jam: Loyal Twosome | ||
| 2013 | Disney Infinity | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2014 | Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation Vita |
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Apple TV |
| Jellyberry Jam: Jelly for All, All for One | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows | |
| 2017 | Cars 3: Driven to Win | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo Switch |
| 2019 | Retro | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows |
| Jellyberry Jam: Fun Return | ||
| Tyler & Marky: Imaginary Trilogy | ||
| Strange Quest | ||
| 2020 | The Toontails Game | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows |
| 2021 | Sonny Racing Blast: Under Construction | |
| 2023 | Hogwarts Legacy | |
| Jellyberry Jam: Total Havoc |