The video game industry is full of beloved studios that produced some excellent games. Many of these companies have been around forever, producing hit after hit for decades. Companies like Naughty Dog and Rockstar keep sticking around because their games are great and this leads them to success after success.
Some developers aren’t as lucky. Plenty of developers have worked hard to produce some classic games, and yet somewhere along the way they shut their doors for good. Plenty of studios during the sixth and seventh generation of consoles all produced a ton of hits, and yet today are no longer around.
9 Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive was a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment and had previously worked on games like MechWarrior 3. However, in 2006 they became part of PlayStation after a series of successes with the SOCOM games. These tactical shooters marked some of Sony’s first online games on the PS2 and were critical and commercial successes.
The commercial success wouldn’t last, however. After the relative failures of MAG on the PS3 and Unit 13 on the PlayStation Vita, Sony made the decision to shutter the studio entirely in 2012.
8 THQ
As a publisher and developer, THQ quietly built up a library of beloved titles during the 2000s. Saints Row was the big franchise, developed by their internal studio Volition, but they had success elsewhere too. Darksiders, Red Faction, Destroy All Humans! And De Blob were all popular titles with dedicated fan bases.
However, THQ also made several financial missteps and ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2012, closing its doors and selling off most of its properties. Their franchises mostly ended up in the hands of Embracer Group, who also purchased the name and formed THQ Nordic, a new publisher that now handles most of those properties.
7 Ensemble Studios
Once upon a time, Ensemble Studios were one of the major players in the real-time strategy genre. After creating the Age of Empires franchise and receiving great acclaim in 1997, they would go on to become part of Microsoft’s development studios.
Age of Empires continued to thrive and eventually, Microsoft even gave them the chance to build a game in the Halo universe. However, while Halo Wars was shaping up to be a great game, it would end up being their last game. Microsoft announced the closure of the studio during the development of Halo Wars, citing restructuring reasons. Ensemble was allowed to finish Halo Wars before closing for good.
6 Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations were a studio that gained a great deal of acclaim for developing racing games. After some success with Formula 1 games with Sony in the 1990s, they would create Metropolis Street Racer for Sega and Project Gotham Racing for Microsoft. Working with Microsoft, they turned PGR into a franchise and also created the Geometry Wars series.
In 2007, Bizarre Creations were acquired by Activision. However, only three years later Activision made the decision to sell off the studio. After being unable to find a buyer, they simply closed the studio entirely, leaving Blur and James Bond: Blood Stone as their final games.
5 Neversoft
The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise was one of the defining game franchises of the 2000s, and developer Neversoft was riding high off its success. So much so that they were also able to branch out into producing the fan-favorite Spider-Man game for PS1 and the Western-themed Xbox 360 launch title Gun. After developer Harmonix left the Guitar Hero project after the second game, Neversoft was selected to replace them.
However, once Guitar Hero hype steadily died down, Neversoft’s fortunes changed. Activision would shift them to support work for the Call of Duty franchise in 2011, before eventually closing the studio entirely in 2014.
4 Sony Japan Studio
While many of Sony’s defining franchises typically come from their Western studios, Sony Japan has a solid reputation of its own. Most notably, the studio was home to Team Ico, creators of the critically acclaimed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. They also created a bunch of unique IPs for Sony, including the Ape Escape series, the PSP rhythm action games Patapon and LocoRoco, and the PS2 horror title Siren.
During the 2010s, Sony would focus more of their development efforts on their Western studios, leading to gradual departures from Japan Studio. Eventually, the only team left at the studio was Team Asobi, developers of the PS5 pack-in game Astro’s Playroom. Sony would close the wider Japan Studio soon after.
3 Free Radical Design
Free Radical Design is a studio that started strong. Their initial staff all left Rare after working on Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, looking to make their own shooter IP in a new studio. That shooter IP was Timesplitters, and that game and its sequels would quickly become fan favorites. Some consider the series to be among some of the best sci-fi shooters ever made.
Sadly, the company fell into money troubles. It was purchased by Crytek in 2009, then closed in 2014. The staff would be transferred to a new studio, Dambuster Studios, which worked on Homefront: The Revolution. However, the studio has been revived under new ownership under the Embracer Group, which is looking to bring back the Timesplitters franchise.
2 Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios was once a major name in PC gaming. After the release of the innovative god game Black and White, the studio would also work on The Movies and Fable, both of which were well received. Lionhead would be acquired by Microsoft in 2006 in order to build the Fable series further. It would go on to become one of Xbox’s more iconic franchises.
Lionhead would have a rough time as a Microsoft subsidiary. They frequently encountered financial issues and their ambitious Kinect projects often encountered production issues. Microsoft would eventually close Lionhead in 2016, canceling Fable Legends in the process.
1 Clover Studio
In the 2000s, Capcom was full of talented and iconic developers, including Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry’s director Hideki Kamiya. There was so much talent, in fact, that several of them got together to form their own internal studio, Clover. They would create a ton of memorable games for Capcom, including the Viewtiful Joe series, God Hand and Okami.
However, while these games were critical darlings, they often underperformed in sales numbers. This led Capcom to try and merge the company into its main studios. Many developers refused this, resulting in the company being abandoned and closed. Most of the team would go on to become Platinum Games, where much of Clover’s legacy lives on.