JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an
Austrian
video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by
Nordic Games.
Its games include the futuristic racing car game ''
Beam Breakers'' which was released in 2002,
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
s in the ''
Gothic'' series, the ''
SpellForce'' series, and the ''
Industry Giant
''Industry Giant'' is a business simulation game for Windows. In 2002 a sequel, '' Industry Giant II'', was released.
Gameplay
Reception
The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. However, ...
'' series of games. Other titles include ''Transport Giant'', ''
World War III: Black Gold'', ''
The Sting!'', ''
Hotel Giant'', and other games of the ''Giants'' series.
History
JoWooD Productions Software AG was founded in 1995 in
Ebensee by Dieter Bernauer, Johann Reitinger, Johann Schilcher, and Andreas Tobler with its headquarters later moved to
Liezen,
Austria. It owned five subsidiaries in the last years:
DreamCatcher Interactive, JoWooD Distribution Services, JoWooD Deutschland, JoWooD Iberica and Quantic Lab. In May 2002, JoWooD acquired
Ravensburger Interactive and its sister company
Fishtank Interactive.
In August 2005, JoWooD attempted to end their development agreement with developer
Perception Pty because of a lack of quality on their "Stargate SG-1" product. JoWooD carried out this action believing they owned the licence for the game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, which was disputed by Perception.
On 4 November 2006, JoWooD announced the acquisition of
DreamCatcher Games, in efforts to move to the North American game markets.
In January 2007, JoWooD announced a UK distribution agreement with Pinnacle Software to allow the latter to distribute JoWooD's titles.
In October 2009, JoWooD changed its name from JoWooD Productions Software AG to JoWooD Entertainment AG.
At the same time, JoWood also announced an agreement with
Valve to make available future JoWooD titles on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
.
On 7 January 2011, JoWooD officially filed for bankruptcy and announced that the company would prepare for "a procedure of capital reorganization". However, on 21 April 2011, JoWooD announced that, unable to negotiate with potential investors, they were officially facing bankruptcy proceedings and had withdrawn their application for a recapitalization plan. In June 2011, JoWooD Entertainment all their assets and its subsidiary, Quantic Lab, was acquired by
Nordic Games. From this point on, JoWooD was no longer operating. All activities of the two companies were taken over by Nordic Games.
On 16 August 2011, Nordic Games announced that it had acquired JoWooD's products and brands and some of the companies labels, including
The Adventure Company.
Following the acquisition it was announced that JoWood and the Adventure Company would become publishing labels for
Nordic Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Nordic Games Holding.
Games published
References
{{Authority control
Economy of Styria
THQ Nordic
Video game companies established in 1995
Video game companies disestablished in 2011
Defunct video game companies of Austria
Video game publishers
Austrian companies established in 1995
2011 disestablishments in Austria