Raven Software

Last updated

Raven Software Corporation
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
Founded1990;34 years ago (1990)
FounderBrian Raffel
Steve Raffel
Headquarters
Middleton, Wisconsin
,
US
Key people
Products
Number of employees
350 (2021) [1]
Parent Activision
Website ravensoftware.com

Raven Software Corporation is an American video game developer based in Wisconsin and founded in 1990. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, many of the studio's original developers, largely responsible for creating the Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic games, left to form Human Head Studios.

Contents

History

id Software

Raven Software was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. [2] Originally a three-person company, they were discovered by John Romero, co-founder of id Software, who collaborated with Raven to make games using their game engine beginning with ShadowCaster . [3] Raven then started making games with id Software; the company even briefly moved to the same street as id Software. [4] They used id's engines for many of their games, such as Heretic, Hexen: Beyond Heretic and Hexen II .

In 2005 and 2009, Raven developed two games from id's catalog: Quake 4 and Wolfenstein respectively. [5]

Activision

The company was independent until 1997, when it was acquired by Activision for $12 million. [6] They were still collaborating with id Software but at the same time developed other titles as well such as Soldier of Fortune in 2000, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy in 2003, X-Men Legends in 2004 and many more.

In August 2009, following poor performance and possible over-budget of Wolfenstein, [7] [8] the company made a major layoff of 30-35 staff, leaving two development teams. This was reduced to one after more layoffs in October 2010, after delays with Singularity; as many as 40 staff were released. Following the layoffs and after id Software was bought over by ZeniMax Media, Raven has since become a primary developer for the Call of Duty series. [9] [10] [11]

In December 2021, Activision did not renew the contract of several members of the quality assurance (QA) department that were contract employees. One of the associate managers said that "valuable members" were fired although they "were promised, for months, that Activision was working towards a pay restructure to increase their wages". [12] Following these firings as well as other controversies revolving Activision Blizzard, a strike has been initiated. [13] [14] On January 21, 2022, Raven's QA team formed a union named the Game Workers Alliance with Communications Workers of America. [15]

In May 2022, a group of quality assurance testers from Raven Software successfully organized a union known as the Game Workers Alliance, with the vote being 19 for and 3 against. [16] In June 2022 Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick stated that the company would recognize the union and begin negotiations with it. [17]

Games

In 2012, Raven began hiring employees for a game, [18] and were announced as collaborating with Infinity Ward on Call of Duty: Ghosts in May 2013. [19]

On April 3, 2013 following the closure of LucasArts, Raven Software released the source code for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy on SourceForge under the GPL-2.0-only license. [20]

In April 2014, the company became lead developer of the now shutdown free-to-play Chinese Call of Duty title, Call of Duty: Online . [21] The company also remade Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered . [22]

In 2020, Raven Software collaborated with Infinity Ward on the game Call of Duty: Warzone . The company is considered the face of maintaining, updating and debugging the game as they regularly provide status updates and patch notes on Twitter and their official website (though it is unclear if they are the sole studio responsible behind-the-scenes). [23] [24] [25]

Raven developed Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War with Treyarch, which released on November 13, 2020. [26]

Related Research Articles

<i>Heretic</i> (video game) 1994 dark fantasy first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software

Heretic is a dark fantasy first-person shooter video game released in December 1994. It was developed by Raven Software and published by id Software through GT Interactive.

<i>Heretic II</i> 1998 video game

Heretic II is a dark fantasy action-adventure game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in November 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic. It is the fourth game in the Hexen: Beyond Heretic series and comes after the "Serpent Rider" trilogy. Although Id Software owns the publishing rights to the previous titles, Heretic 2 is owned by Activision since they own Raven Software and its IPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Activision</span> American video game publisher

Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016.

Infinity Ward, Inc. is an American video game developer. They developed the video game Call of Duty, along with seven other installments in the Call of Duty series. Vince Zampella, Grant Collier, and Jason West established Infinity Ward in 2002 after working at 2015, Inc. previously. All of the 22 original team members of Infinity Ward came from the team that had worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault while at 2015, Inc. Activision helped fund Infinity Ward in its early days, buying up 30 percent of the company, before eventually fully acquiring them. The studio's first game, World War II shooter Call of Duty, was released on the PC in 2003. The day after the game was released, Activision bought the rest of Infinity Ward, signing employees to long-term contracts. Infinity Ward went on to make Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, the Modern Warfare reboot, and its sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neversoft</span> American video game developer

Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Woodland Hills, California. The studio was founded by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward in July 1994 and was acquired by Activision in October 1999. Initially, the studio worked with Playmates Toys, where they worked on the game Skeleton Warriors, which was based on a animated television series of the same name. Throughout 1996, the studio grew, and worked on projects with Crystal Dynamics and Sony Computer Entertainment, but due to internal conflicts, they were cancelled.

Treyarch Corporation is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü, it was acquired by Activision in 2001. The studio is known for its work for the Call of Duty series, which it develops alongside Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software.

Toys for Bob, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. It was founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford and is best known for creating Star Control and the Skylanders franchise, as well as for working on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro franchises.

Call of Duty is a military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-off and handheld games were made by other developers. The most recent title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, was released on November 10, 2023. The upcoming title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, is scheduled to be released in October 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beenox</span> Video game developer, established in Quebec City, Quebec

Beenox Inc. is a Canadian video game developer established in 2000 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The studio became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision on May 25, 2005.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units: Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, King, Major League Gaming, and Activision Blizzard Studios.

Sledgehammer Games, Inc. is an American video game developer company formed in 2009 by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. The pair formerly worked at Visceral Games and are responsible for the creation of Dead Space. The company is based in Foster City, California. The studio has developed and co-developed various video games in the Call of Duty series. The company is owned by Activision which itself is owned by Microsoft.

Respawn Entertainment, LLC is an American video game development studio founded in 2010 by Jason West and Vince Zampella and owned by Electronic Arts since 2017. West and Zampella previously co-founded Infinity Ward and created the Call of Duty franchise, where they were responsible for its development until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IW (game engine)</span> Game engine developed by Infinity Ward

The IW engine is a game engine created and developed by Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series. The engine was originally based on id Tech 3. Aside from Infinity Ward, the engine is also used by other Activision studios working on the series, including primary lead developers Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games, and support studios like Beenox, High Moon Studios, and Raven Software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Call of Duty Endowment</span> Military veterans support organization

The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation co-created by Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, and General James L. Jones, Jr., a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, to help U.S., and later, U.K. military veterans find high-quality careers. The Endowment funds non-profit organizations that help former service members transition to high quality civilian careers after their military service and raises awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace. The name of the Endowment is a reference to the video game series Call of Duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CODE-CWA</span> Initiative to unionize tech and video game workers

The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees or CODE-CWA is a project launched by the Communications Workers of America to unionize tech and video game workers in January 2020. It sprung out of conversations with Game Workers Unite (GWU) and employed at least two full time staff, including GWU co-founder Emma Kinema and veteran SEIU organizer Wes McEnany. In 2022, Jessica Gonzalez joined, a former Activision Blizzard QA tester.

<i>California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard</i> Ongoing anti-discrimination lawsuit

California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard is a current lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), now the Civil Rights Department (CRD) against video game developer Activision Blizzard in July 2021. The lawsuit asserts that management of Activision Blizzard allowed and at times encouraged sexual misconduct towards female employees, that the company maintained a "frat boy" culture, and that the company's hiring and employment practices were discriminatory against women.

ABK Workers Alliance is a group of organized workers from video game company Activision Blizzard. Formed in response to a July 2021 state lawsuit against the company for harassment and discriminatory work practices, the worker advocacy group A Better ABK organized walkouts and demonstrations against the company's policy and practices. The quality assurance workers of subsidiary Raven Software went on strike in December after part of the team was fired. The striking workers announced their union as the Game Workers Alliance in late January 2022 and offered to end the strike pending their union's recognition.

Jessica Gonzalez is an American labor organizer working with CODE-CWA, the Communication Workers of America's Campaign to Organize Digital Employees. She is known for her work organizing in the video game industry and founding A Better ABK, the worker advocacy group at Activision Blizzard, and co-founding ABK Workers Alliance, a solidarity union, and Game Workers Alliance, the Raven Software union.

References

  1. ↑ "Analysis: Call of Duty Warzone's developer has grown by nearly 50% in a year". VGC. July 19, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Raven Software - About the Studio". ravensoftware.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ Romero, John. "The Early Days of id Software". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  4. ↑ "From Dungeon & Dragons to Call of Duty: The Story of Raven Software". USgamer.net. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ "id Software and Activision, Inc. Confirm Wolfenstein(R) for the Xbox 360 Video Game and Entertainment System". PR Newswire. October 5, 2005.
  6. ↑ Kaplan, Karen (August 7, 1997). "Activision to Expand Game Lineup with Raven Purchase". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  7. ↑ Ivan, Tom. "Raven Software Hit By Layoffs". Archived from the original on September 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ Crecente, Brian (August 26, 2009). "Raven Hit By Layoffs, Some Point to Lackluster Wolfenstein Sales". Kotaku. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Report: Layoffs Hit Raven Software, Focusing on DLC". Shacknews.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Raven Software Loses More Staff". Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  11. ↑ Crecente, Brian (October 11, 2010). "Singularity Game Developer Hit with Layoffs". Kotaku. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ Obedkov, Evgeny (December 7, 2021). "Call of Duty: Warzone developers protest layoffs of contract testers who were promised promotions". Game World Observer. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Nightingale, Ed (December 7, 2021). "Raven Software employees walk out following layoffs in the QA team". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Blizzard QA Staff Join Walkout As Raven Software Strike Continues". GameSpot. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Workers at Activision Blizzard-owned game studio Raven Software vote to unionize". Los Angeles Times . January 21, 2022.
  16. ↑ Liao, Shannon (May 23, 2022). "Raven Software employees win union election". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ LeBlanc, Wesley. "Activision Blizzard CEO Says Company Will Recognize Raven Software Union And Begin Negotiations". Game Informer. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  18. ↑ Hinkle, David (November 2, 2012). "Raven job listings suggest next-gen game in the works". Joystiq. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ Pitcher, Jenna (May 22, 2013). "Raven Software and Neversoft assisted Infinity Ward in Call of Duty: Ghosts development". Polygon. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  20. ↑ Hinkle, David (April 4, 2013). "Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy source code released". Joystiq . Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Raven Software now the lead developer on CoD: Online for China". CharlieIntel. April 17, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  22. ↑ Scammell, David (May 2, 2016). "Modern Warfare Remastered is developed by Raven; first multiplayer maps confirmed". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  23. ↑ Park, Morgan (January 20, 2021). "So, who's making Call of Duty: Warzone now?". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  24. ↑ Duwe, Scott (August 11, 2021). "Raven Software says it banned 50,000 additional accounts from Call of Duty: Warzone today alone". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Call of Duty: Warzone Season Six Patch Notes". www.ravensoftware.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  26. ↑ August 2020, Alyssa Mercante 04 (August 4, 2020). "Call of Duty 2020 confirmed by developers Treyarch and Raven Software". gamesradar. Retrieved August 5, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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