Underground Development, Ltd. (formerly Z-Axis, Ltd.) 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
Foster City, California. The company was founded in 1994 by David Luntz and sold to
Activision in May 2002. Following a rebranding to Underground Development in February 2008, the company was closed in February 2010.
History
Z-Axis was founded by David Luntz in 1994,
originally located in
San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
. On May 22, 2002,
Activision announced that they had acquired Z-Axis in exchange for a payment of in cash and stock, and up to 93,446 additional shares in Activision linked to the studio's performance.
At the time, the studio was located in
Hayward, California
Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...
.
In February 2008, Z-Axis was rebranded as Underground Development.
Activision reported in April 2008 that they were closing Underground Development, which had the time had under 45 employees in a
Foster City, California office, at the end of the coming May. The studio was fully closed on February 12, 2010.
Games developed as Z-Axis
Games developed as Underground Development
References
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Video game companies based in California
Video game development companies
Defunct Activision subsidiaries
Companies based in Foster City, California
Video game companies established in 1994
Video game companies disestablished in 2010
1994 establishments in California
2010 disestablishments in California
Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
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