Midway Studios Los Angeles Inc. (formerly known as Paradox Development) was an American-based video game developer. They are best known for fighting games such as the '' X-Men Mutant Academy'' and ''Backyard Wrestling'' franchises, as well as the ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' action game spin-off '' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.'' The team was also responsible for the controversially violent

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

title ''

Thrill Kill ''Thrill Kill'' is a cancelled fighting video game developed by Paradox Development for the PlayStation. The game's plot involves ten people who all get sent to Hell after dying on Earth and are forced by Marukka, the Goddess of Secrets, to fig ...

,'' but the game was later cancelled.

History

CWS Entertainment Ltd./Paradox Development era

Paradox Development was founded in 1994 by Christine Hsu and went on to produce titles for top video game publishers including

Activision 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 o ...

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(later acquired by Electronic Arts), Interplay, and

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

. In 2004-11-23, Midway Games Inc. acquired CWS Entertainment Ltd., whom was doing business as Paradox Development. Midway announced the acquisition 7 days later, by then Paradox Development was developing Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.Deals: Midway Acquires Paradox Development
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Midway Studios – Los Angeles Inc. era

Following the acquisition by Midway, Paradox Development was renamed to Midway Studios – Los Angeles Inc., sometimes called "Midway Los Angeles" or "Midway L.A." In 2008, Midway Los Angeles was relocated and merged with Midway's

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

office. The following year, publisher Midway Games filed for bankruptcy, and in August 2009 the Midway San Diego studio was closed and most of its assets were purchased by publisher

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...

, who only offered about 40% of the studio's personnel new positions within the company. Many of the laid-off developers were hired by

High Moon Studios High Moon Studios, Inc. (formerly Sammy Entertainment Inc. and Sammy Studios, Inc.) is an American video game developer initially formed in 2001. After nearly a year as an independent studio, the developer was acquired by Vivendi Games in Janua ...

Developed games

CWS Entertainment Ltd./Paradox Development era

PlayStation

*''

'' (unreleased) *'' Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots Arena'' *'' Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style'' *'' X-Men: Mutant Academy'' *'' X-Men: Mutant Academy 2'' *'' Disney's The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure''

PlayStation 2

*'' Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood'' *'' Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home'' *'' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks'' *'' X-Men: Next Dimension''

Xbox

*'' Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood'' *'' Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home'' *'' X-Men: Next Dimension''

Midway Studios - Los Angeles era

PlayStation 2

*'' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks'' *''

TNA iMPACT! ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) tha ...

Xbox

*'' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks''

Xbox 360

*''

PlayStation 3

*''

Wii

* ''

References

External links

Paradox Development
Midway Games Entertainment companies based in California Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles Video game development companies Video game companies established in 1994 Video game companies disestablished in 2008 Defunct video game companies of the United States 1994 establishments in California 2008 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries {{US-videogame-company-stub