Aspyr Media, Inc. (pronounced " aspire") is an American

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a publisher and developer of entertainment for multiple gaming platforms. Aspyr was acquired by Embracer Group in February 2021 and placed within Saber Interactive.

History

In 1996, Aspyr Media, Inc., was established by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Staloch, who had a background in sales and marketing and Rogers, who worked with TechWorks, noticed that there was a lack of gaming titles available to Mac owners and set out to change it. According to Rogers, when naming the company, they “wanted something meaning ‘to aspire and be great’” and also “memorable and unique.” Aspyr made its name specializing in porting video games from

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

to macOS. By 2003, they owned 60 percent of the Mac entertainment market. In 2005, Aspyr partnered with

Alex Seropian Alexander Seropian (born 1969) is an American video game developer, one of the initial founders and later president of Bungie, the developer of the ''Marathon'', ''Myth'', and ''Halo'' video game series. Seropian became interested in computer pro ...

of Wideload Games and released their first originally-published AAA game, ''

Stubbs The Zombie Stubbs may refer to: Places United States *Stubbs, California, former name of Clearlake Oaks, California Clearlake Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. It is located on the northeast of Clear Lake, ...

'', to Mac OS, Windows and Xbox. In 2015, Aspyr Media expanded their platform catalog again by releasing an iOS port of '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'' and later, Bioware's classic-action RPG, '' Jade Empire'' - a title they extended to

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

as well. In 2015, Aspyr updated '' Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords'' (native widescreen resolutions up to 5K, Steam Workshop, support for controllers, 57 achievements, etc.) and also ported it to macOS and Linux. In 2015, Aspyr developed and published '' Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered'', a remaster of a game developed by Quantic Dream, to a worldwide audience with enhanced game features, updated visuals and controls, as well as content that was censored in the original North American release. According to Elizabeth Howard, vice president of publishing at Aspyr Media, the company's current focus is less on internal IP and more on company growth, establishing bigger undertakings with big brands. Aspyr has published over 190 games, and have added 90 plus members to their team since 1996. In February 2021, Aspyr was acquired by Embracer Group. The company was added as a studio under the Saber Interactive label within Embracer. In September 2021, it was announced that Aspyr was developing a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of ''Knights of the Old Republic'' for

and

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...

as a timed exclusive. In August 2022, Embracer announced that Aspyr is no longer working on the game and development has been moved to another studio. On April 12, 2022, Aspyr announced that it would publish ''MythForce'', the debut title from Canadian studio

Beamdog IdeaSpark Labs Inc. (trade name: Beamdog) is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2009 by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster and former BioWare lead programmer Cameron Tofer. Beamdog's distribution service was launched in July 2010. History ...

. The following day, Embracer Group acquired Beamdog and placed it as a subsidiary of Aspyr.

Games

Currently, Aspyr's catalog includes popular games such as ''

Sid Meier's Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games, and distributed by Take-Two Interactive. The mobile port was published by Aspyr Media. The latest entry into the ''Civiliza ...

'', developed in 2018 on Mac, Linux, iOS and Nintendo Switch, ''

Torn Torn may refer to: Film and television * ''Torn'' (2009 film), an American film by Richard Johnson * ''Torn'' (2013 American film), directed Jeremiah Birnbaum * ''Torn'' (2013 Nigerian film), directed by Moses Inwang * ''Torn'' (TV series), a ...

'', and the re-releases of LucasArts titles: '' Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast'' and '' Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 establishments in Texas 2021 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1996 Apple Design Awards recipients Companies based in Austin, Texas Linux companies Linux game porters Macintosh software companies Saber Interactive Video game companies based in Texas Video game companies established in 1996 Video game companies of the United States Video game development companies Video game publishers