Saffire was 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 ...

based in

South Jordan, Utah South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquirrh ...

. Founded as Cygnus Multimedia Productions in 1993 by Les Pardew and Charles Moore, it was originally based in Pardew's basement in

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

with a team of six people. Pardew bought out Moore's share in 1994 and involved Hal Rushton as a partner in Moore's place. Cygnus was renamed Saffire in October 1995 and moved from Pleasant Grove to American Fork shortly thereafter for further expansion. Saffire became defunct in 2007.

History

Saffire was founded by Leslie W. ("Les") Pardew with assistance by Charles Moore in 1993. The team initially consisted of six people working from Pardew's basement in

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

, and expanded to fourteen when it was incorporated in November 1993. The company was named Cygnus Multimedia Productions, taking the name from mythological king

Cycnus of Liguria In Greek mythology, Cycnus (Ancient Greek: Κύκνος "swan") or Cygnus, was a king of Liguria, a beloved and kin of Phaethon, who lamented his death and was subsequently turned into a swan and then a constellation. Mythology Family Cycnus ...

"because it sounded cool" and started out by creating artwork for video games of other developers. In 1994, Pardew bought out Moore's stake in the company and brought on Hal Rushton, the former "

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of product development" for

Sculptured Software Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game publisher from Long Island, active from 1987 until filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 1, 2004. Through a series of acquisitions between 1990 and 2002, Acclaim built itself a large portfol ...

, as a partner. Rushton became the company's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, with Pardew as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. By February 1995, Cygnus employed 50 people in a bottom-floor office in Pleasant Grove; the office was small, wherefore staff worked in shifts, and frequently flooded during rainfall. Cygnus changed its name to Saffire in October 1995 and moved to a new studio in the Utah Valley Business Park in American Fork later that year. The move allowed Saffire to engage in the full production of video games, which Pardew sought to fasten with continued expansion. To raise capital, Pardew borrowed from Utah Technology Finance Corp. (UTFC) in September 1996 and further in March 1997. Rushton became the company's president by December 1997, while Pardew assumed the role of

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. Saffire settled in expanded offices in Pleasant Grove in January 1999. By that time, Mark Kendell had become the company's

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. Saffire continued to expand, with 80 employees in December 1999 and 120 employees in July 2001, the latter while based in American Fork. In March 2007, Saffire (at the time based in

South Jordan South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquir ...

) was developing ''Cryptid Hunter'', then scheduled for release in 2008. However, Saffire went out of business later that year.

Games developed

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20070826113029/http://www.saffire.com/ (archived) 1993 establishments in Utah 2007 disestablishments in Utah American companies disestablished in 2007 American companies established in 1993 Defunct companies based in Utah Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies disestablished in 2007 Video game companies established in 1993 Video game development companies