Sanzaru Games, Inc. is an American video game development company that was founded in
Foster City, California
Foster City is a city located in San Mateo County, California. The 2020 census put the population at 33,805, an increase of more than 10% over the 2010 census figure of 30,567. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley ...
in 2006. Sanzaru also has a satellite studio based in
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
called Kitazaru, as well as an office in
Dublin, California
Dublin (formerly, Dougherty, Alameda County, California, Amador and Dougherty's Station) is a suburban city of the East Bay in California. It is located within the Amador Valley of Alameda County, California, Alameda County's Tri-Valley region. ...
. The company name is based on the
three wise monkeys
The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are
* Mizaru, who sees no evil, covering his eyes
* Kikazaru, who hears no evil, covering ...
(called sanzaru in Japan).
History
Their first game was
Ninja Reflex, released on March 1, 2008, for
PC,
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
and
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
. Their second game was a port of the
High Impact Games
High Impact Games was an American video game developer based in Burbank, California, formed in 2003 by former members of Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog. In 2007, the company released '' Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters'' for the PlayStation Por ...
developed
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
game ''
Secret Agent Clank
''Secret Agent Clank'' is a platform game developed by High Impact Games for the PlayStation Portable and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in North America on June 17, 2008. A PlayStation 2 version was ported by Sanzaru ...
'', released on May 26, 2009, for
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
. Their third game was a
high definition remastered collection of the ''
Sly Cooper'' games originally developed by
Sucker Punch Productions
Sucker Punch Productions, LLC is an American video game developer based in Bellevue, Washington. It is best known for creating character action games for PlayStation consoles such as ''Sly Cooper'', ''Infamous (series), Infamous'', and ''Ghost ...
for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, titled ''
The Sly Collection'' and released on November 9, 2010, for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
. Their fourth game was ''
Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident'', which they assisted in development with
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, with a regional office in Oakland, California, owned by Aristocrat Leisure. It is a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices. It has been accused of k ...
on, was released on June 27, 2011, for
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
. Their fifth game is ''
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time'', which was set to be released late 2012, but was delayed to February 2013. Their latest game was revealed as a remake of ''
Spyro: Year of the Dragon'', which was included in the ''
Spyro Reignited
''Spyro Reignited Trilogy'' is a platform video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. It is a collection of remasters of the first three games in the ''Spyro'' series: ''Spyro the Dragon'' (1998), '' Ripto's Rage!'' (1999) ...
'' trilogy.
On October 10, 2019, the company released ''
Asgard's Wrath'', an epic AAA VR action adventure title on the Oculus Rift. It was critically praised by various media such as IGN, UploadVR and VRFocus.
On February 25, 2020, the company was acquired by
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
as part of its
Oculus Studios
Reality Labs is a business of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon Wo ...
.
Games
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American companies established in 2006
Video game companies of the United States
Video game companies based in California
Video game development companies
Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Companies based in Foster City, California
Video game companies established in 2006
2007 establishments in California
2020 mergers and acquisitions
Meta Platforms acquisitions
Oculus VR