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Rainbow Studios

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Rainbow Studios
Formerly
  • Rainbow Multimedia Group (1986–1992)
  • THQ Digital Studios Phoenix (2010–2011)
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
FounderEarl Jarred
Headquarters
Phoenix, Arizona
,
United States
Key people
Lenore Gilbert (CEO)
Products
Number of employees
61[1] (2021)
Parent
SubsidiariesRainbow Studios Montréal
Websiterainbowstudios.com

Rainbow Studios is an American video game developer based in Phoenix, Arizona, best known for developing offroad racing games, such as Motocross Madness and the MX vs. ATV series. It was established by Earl Jarred in 1986 under the name Rainbow Multimedia Group and rebranded as Rainbow Studios in 1992. In January 2002, the company was acquired by THQ, under the ownership of which it was renamed THQ Digital Studios Phoenix in February 2010 and closed in August 2011. The studio was re-instated as Rainbow Studios in 2013 by Nordic Games (later known as THQ Nordic), a publishing company that had purchased most assets of the then-bankrupt THQ earlier that year. The studio is now independent.[2]

History

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Rainbow Studios, originally named Rainbow Multimedia Group, was founded by Earl Jarred in 1986.[3][4] In 1992, the company shifted its focus towards developing video games and was rebranded Rainbow Studios.[4] On November 8, 2001, video game publisher THQ announced that it had agreed to acquire the studio in exchange for 1 million shares of common stock.[5] An agreement of merger was signed between the two companies on December 21, 2001,[6] and THQ announced that the deal had been completed on January 3, 2002, at which point THQ had issued 858,203 shares and expected to issue further 106,259 at a later point in time.[7] In 2005, Jarred, alongside vice chairman Jeff Padden and employees Rick Baltman and Robb Rinard, left Rainbow Studios to form a new video game studio, 2XL Games.[8] Three further Rainbow Studios veterans—Brad Ruminer, Dennis Booth, and Glenn O'Bannon—announced the formation of their studio, TimeFly Studios, in April 2008.[9]

In mid-April 2008, Rainbow Studios laid off a team of 30 people working on an unannounced game. Because the team was "a minority" in the studio's multi-team setup, development on the game was able to continue despite the staff reduction.[10] Further layoffs were instigated in November 2008 and February 2009 as part of larger restructurings within THQ.[11][12] To push THQ's vision for digitally distributed games as part of its core portfolio, effective on February 3, Rainbow Studios and sister studio Juice Games were rebranded as THQ Digital Studios Phoenix and THQ Digital Studios Warrington, respectively.[13] As a result of the restructuring, both studios collectively lost 60 employees.[13][14] On August 9, 2011, THQ announced that, as part of another larger restructuring, THQ Digital Studios Phoenix would be closed down.[15] The closure led to the elimination of 48 jobs at the Phoenix studio.[16] THQ planned to retain a quality assurance department on-site.[16]

THQ later filed for bankruptcy, and many of its assets, including the Rainbow Studios-developed MX vs. ATV franchise, were auctioned off to publisher Nordic Games (later known as THQ Nordic) in 2013.[17] As Nordic Games planned to start developing new titles in that franchise, the company opted to resurrect Rainbow Studios under the former name and in its former location.[17] The move was announced in December that year, at which point the new Rainbow Studios had hired many people previously employed by the former Rainbow Studios, including Ken George, Dave Dwire, Mike Mamula, Brad Bowling, Scott Hofmann, Justin Walsh, David Knudsen, and Lenore Gilbert.[18][19] By June 2019, Rainbow Studios had 41 employees.[20] As of October 2019, Gilbert serves as Rainbow Studios' chief executive officer.[21]

In September 2023, Rainbow Studios suffered an unknown number of layoffs as part of the Embracer Group's effort to reduce costs.[22] At some point, Rainbow Studios went independent and is now employee owned.[23]

Games developed

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Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s)
1994 Air Havoc Controller Microsoft Windows Trimark Interactive
1995 The Hive Microsoft Windows, PlayStation
1996 Deadly Tide Microsoft Windows Microsoft
Ravage D.C.X Inscape
1998 Motocross Madness Microsoft
2000 Motocross Madness 2
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 EA Sports
2001 ATV Offroad Fury PlayStation 2 Sony Computer Entertainment
Splashdown PlayStation 2, Xbox Infogrames
2002 ATV Offroad Fury 2 PlayStation 2 Sony Computer Entertainment
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 PlayStation 2, Xbox Activision
Star Wars Racer Revenge PlayStation 2 LucasArts
2003 Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild THQ
2004 MX Unleashed PlayStation 2, Xbox
2005 MX vs. ATV Unleashed
2006 Cars Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
2007 Cars Mater-National Championship Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360
MX vs. ATV Untamed PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2009 Deadly Creatures Wii
MX vs. ATV Reflex PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2010 Dood's Big Adventure Wii
2011 MX vs. ATV Alive PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2014 MX vs. ATV Supercross Nordic Games
2015 MX vs ATV: Supercross Encore Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
2018 MX vs ATV All Out Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One THQ Nordic
2019 Monster Jam: Steel Titans Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One
2021 Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One
2022 MX vs ATV Legends Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

References

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  1. ^ "Embracer Group Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2020 / 2021" (PDF). Embracer Group. August 25, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "About Us".
  3. ^ "Corporate Information". Rainbow Studios. 1999. Archived from the original on September 3, 2000.
  4. ^ a b "Corporate History". Rainbow Studios. 2000. Archived from the original on March 6, 2001.
  5. ^ IGN Staff (November 8, 2001). "THQ Buys Rainbow". IGN. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  6. ^ "Agreement of Merger – THQ Inc. and Rainbow Multimedia Group Inc". Onecle. December 21, 2001. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  7. ^ IGN Staff (January 3, 2002). "THQ Completes Rainbow Studios Acquisition". IGN. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  8. ^ Jenkins, David (November 11, 2005). "Rainbow Studios Veterans Form 2XL Games". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  9. ^ Boyer, Brandon (April 1, 2008). "MX Vs. ATV, Cars Vets Form TimeFly Studios". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Remo, Chris (April 30, 2008). "Report: THQ's Rainbow, Sandblast Studios See Layoffs". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  11. ^ Welsh, Oli (November 4, 2008). "THQ closes five US studios". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  12. ^ Martin, Matt (February 5, 2009). "THQ cuts 600 staff as losses hit $192 million". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Sinclair, Brendan (February 3, 2010). "Juice Games, Rainbow Studios get downloadable focus, layoffs". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  14. ^ Faylor, Chris (February 4, 2010). "THQ Rebrands Studios Under New Digital Initiative, Laying Off 'Approximately 60'". Shacknews. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  15. ^ McWhertor, Michael (August 9, 2011). "THQ Cuts 200 Jobs, MX vs. ATV Series, de Blob Studio and More". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  16. ^ a b O'Grady, Patrick (August 16, 2011). "THQ closing Phoenix game development operations, cutting 48 jobs". The Business Journals. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  17. ^ a b Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 20, 2013). "Nordic Games developing new MX vs. ATV launching early next year". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Crecente, Brian (May 15, 2014). "MX vs. ATV Supercross is playable at E3". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  19. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (December 20, 2013). "Nordic bringing back MX vs. ATV". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  20. ^ Wingefors, Lars (August 27, 2019). "THQ Nordic Annual Report 2018/19" (PDF). Cision. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Payne, Christopher (October 1, 2019). "Gaymer Night: Representation, Support and Inclusivity". The Daily Utah Chronicle. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Kerr, Chris (September 11, 2023). "Report: Embracer layoffs impact staff at MX vs ATV developer Rainbow Studios". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "About Us". Rainbow Studios. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
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