Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the

Virgin Group Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by the Companies House, who class it as a holding co ...

. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwood Studios co-founder

Brett Sperry Brett Sperry is an American video game designer, a fine arts gallerist, and a professional photographer. He is also a leading developer of the Las Vegas arts community where he's made significant investments in property and infrastructure, pri ...

and '' Earthworm Jim'' creators David Perry and

Doug TenNapel Douglas Richard TenNapel ( ; born July 10, 1966) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, video game designer, and comic book artist whose work has encompassed animated television, video games, and comic books. He is best known for creating ...

. Others include video game composer

Tommy Tallarico Tommy Tallarico (born Thomas Andrew Tallarico; February 18, 1968) is an American video game music composer, musician, sound designer, television personality, live show creative director and producer. He and his company, Tommy Tallarico Studio ...

and animators

Bill Kroyer William Kroyer is an American director of animation and computer graphics commercials, short films, movie titles, and theatrical films. He and Jerry Rees were the main animators for the CGI sequences in ''Tron''. He is currently the head of the Di ...

and Andy Luckey. Formed as Virgin Games in 1983, and built around a small development team called the Gang of Five, the company grew significantly after purchasing budget label Mastertronic in 1987. As Virgin's video game division grew into a multimedia powerhouse, it crossed over to other industries from toys to film to education. To highlight its focus beyond video games and on multimedia, the publisher was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993. As result of a growing trend throughout the 1990s of media companies, movie studios and telecom firms investing in video game makers to create new forms of entertainment, VIE became part of the entertainment industry after being acquired by media companies Blockbuster and Viacom, who were attracted by its multimedia and

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both com ...

-based software development. Being located in close proximity to the thirty-mile zone and having access to the media content of its parent companies drew Virgin Interactive's U.S. division closer to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

as it began developing sophisticated interactive games, leading to partnerships with Disney and other major studios on motion picture-based

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

such as ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'', ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'', ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Fer ...

'' and ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor ( Linda Hamilton), wh ...

'', in addition to being the publisher of popular titles from other companies like

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', ''Mega Man'', ''De ...

's ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' series and ''

Street Fighter Collection ''Street Fighter Collection'' is a fighting game compilation developed and published by Capcom for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. It contains the original ''Super Street Fighter II'', its follow-up '' Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', and an e ...

'' and

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...

's ''

Doom II ''Doom II'', also known as ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'', is a first-person shooter game by id Software. It was released for MS-DOS computers in 1994 and Macintosh computers in 1995. Unlike the original ''Doom'', which was initially only available ...

'' in the European market. VIE ceased to exist in mid-2003 after being acquired by French publisher

Titus Software Titus Interactive SA,Contact
. Titus Interactiv ...

who rebranded them to Avalon Interactive in July of that year. The VIE library and intellectual properties are owned by

Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

as a result of its acquisition of Titus. A close affiliate and successor of Spanish origin, Virgin Play, was formed in 2002 from the ashes of former Virgin Interactive's Spanish division and kept operating until it folded in 2009.

History

Early history (1983-1987)

Nick Alexander formed Virgin Games in 1983 after leaving Thorn EMI. It was headquartered in Portobello Road, London. The firm initially relied on submissions by freelancer developers, but set up its own in-house development team in 1984, known as the Gang of Five. Early successes included ''Sorcery'' and ''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repr ...

''. The company expanded with the acquisition of several smaller publishers,

Rabbit Software Rabbit Software was an English software company which produced video games for home computers such as the ZX Spectrum, VIC-20, and Commodore 64 in the early to mid-1980s. Rabbit's later software packaging was slightly different from that of the o ...

New Generation Software New Generation Software was a firm best known for the computer games with innovative graphics it produced for the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers. It was conceived in the spring of 1982 shortly after the lead developer, Malcolm Evans cre ...

and Leisure Genius (publishers of the first officially licensed computer versions of ''

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...

'', ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

'' and ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...

'').

Purchase of Mastertronic and rebranding to Virgin Mastertronic (1987-1991)

1987 marked a turning point for Virgin after its acquisition of struggling distributor Mastertronic. Mastertronic had opened its North American headquarters in Irvine,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

just a year earlier to build on its success at home, though growth exhausted its resources after expanding in Europe and acquiring publisher Melbourne House.

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

stepped in and offered to buy 45 percent of Mastertronic stake, in exchange Mastertronic joined the Virgin Group. The subsequent merger created Virgin Mastertronic Ltd. in 1988 with Alper as its president which enabled Virgin to expand its business reach overseas. Mastertronic had been the distributor of the

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 an ...

in the United Kingdom and is credited with introducing

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

to the European market, where they expanded rapidly. The Mastertronic acquisition enabled Virgin to compete with

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

in the growing home console market.

Return to publishing (1991-1993)

To gain a foothold in its newly established market, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. acquired Mastertronic in 1991 while Virgin retained a small publishing unit, which was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993.

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

, who had previously licensed some of its properties to Virgin, bought 15 percent—later increased to 16.2 percent—stake in VIE in August 1993. Hasbro wanted to create titles based on its brands, which included

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, ...

, G.I. Joe and

. The deal cut off competitors like

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in mor ...

and

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen ...

who were interested in a similar partnership. In late 1993, Virgin Interactive spun off a new company, Virgin Sound and Vision, to focus exclusively on CD-based children's entertainment.

Purchase by Blockbuster Entertainment and Spelling Entertainment (1994-1998)

As more media companies became interested in interactive entertainment,

Blockbuster Entertainment Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming, ...

, then the world's largest video-store chain, acquired 20 percent of Virgin Interactive Entertainment in January 1994. It acquired 75 percent of VIE's stock later in 1994 and purchased the remaining shares held by Hasbro in an effort to expand beyond its video store base. Hasbro went on to found their own game company, Hasbro Interactive the following year. The partnership with Blockbuster ended a year later when Blockbuster sold its stake to

Spelling Entertainment Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...

, at the time being a subsidiary of Viacom. Viacom is the owner of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, which made Virgin Interactive part of one of the world's largest entertainment companies. Viacom had planned to sell Spelling and buy Virgin Interactive out of Spelling before the sale. While it abandoned the Spelling sale some time ago, the collapse in the games market appears to have killed off any interest in buying Virgin. Blockbuster and Viacom invested heavily in the production of CD-based interactive multimedia—video games featuring sophisticated motion-picture video, stereo sound and computer animation. VIE's headquarters were expanded to include 17 production studios where expensive SGI “graphics supercomputers” were used to build increasingly complicated games, eventually becoming one of the five largest U.S.-based video game companies. In 1995, VIE signed a deal with

to publish its titles in Europe, supplanting

Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide ...

as Capcom's designated European distributor. VIE later published titles released by other companies, such as

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, T ...

Re-independence and purchase of US operations by Electronic Arts (1998-1999)

Spelling put its ownership of Virgin up for sale as a public stock offering in 1997, stating that Virgin's financial performance had been disappointing. Since Spelling's purchase of the company, Virgin had lost $14 million in 1995 and was expected to post similar losses for 1996. In 1998, Virgin Interactive's US operations were divested to

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

as part of its $122.5 million (£75 million) acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year. Electronic Arts also acquired the Burst Studios development studio, which was renamed to Westwood Pacific by its new owners. The European division though was put out in a majority stake buyout backed by Mark Dyne, who became its Chief Executive Officer in the same year. Tim Chaney, the former Managing Director was named president.

Purchase by Interplay and Titus (1999-2002)

On February 17, 1999,

purchased a 49.9% minority interest in the company, allowing Interplay to distribute Virgin's titles in North America and Virgin distributing Interplay's titles in Europe. In October of that year,

Titus Interactive Titus Interactive SA,Contact
. Titus Interactiv ...

acquired a 50.1% majority interest in VIE after the company acquired a majority interest in Interplay. In 2001, Titus Software Corporation, the North American division of Titus Interactive, announced a new line of games to be branded under the Virgin Interactive name in North America, which were to be sold at a budget price of $20. These games would be '' Screamer 4x4'', '' Codename: Outbreak'', '' Original War'', ''

Jimmy White's Cueball World ''Jimmy White's Cueball World'' is a sports simulation video game published by Virgin Interactive as the sequel to '' Jimmy White's 2: Cueball'', itself a sequel to '' Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker''. The development team once again being led ...

'' and ''Nightstone''. This would be the first time since 1998 that the Virgin Interactive name would be used for publishing in the country, excluding the North American release of '' Jimmy White's 2: Cueball'', which was handled by Bay Area Multimedia.

Acquisition by Titus, sale of Spanish operations, rebranding, and fate (2002-2006)

In early 2002, as part of Titus Interactive's buyout of Interplay's European operations, Interplay's shares in Virgin Interactive were sold to Titus, which made the company a 100% owned subsidiary of Titus Software. Virgin Interactive ceased publishing their own games soon afterwards, and become solely a video game distributor for Titus and Interplay's titles. In June 2002, Titus accepted the MBO (management buyout) of Virgin Interactive's Spanish operations by Tim Chaney but would continue to distribute Titus' titles in the region. With this, the company was out of Titus' hands and was rebranded as Virgin Play in October of that year. On July 1, 2003, Virgin Interactive's British and French operations were renamed to Avalon Interactive and Avalon France by Titus, respectively. In January 2005, Titus Interactive filed for bankruptcy with €33 million ($43.8 million) debt. Avalon France and all of Titus' French operations were closed down immediately, while the UK branch continued to trade as Titus’ non-French operations were unaffected. Avalon Interactive was eventually closed by May 2006.

Games

*'' Falcon Patrol'' (1983) *'' Falcon Patrol II'' (1984) *''Sorcery'' (1984) *'' The Biz'' (1984) *''Strangeloop'' (1985) *'' Doriath'' (1985) *'' Gates of Dawn'' (1985) *'' Hunter Patrol'' (1985) *''Now Games'' compilation series (1985–1988) *'' Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future'' (1986) *''Shogun'' (1986) *'' Action Force'' (1987) *'' Action Force II'' (1988) *'' Clue: Master Detective'' (1989) *'' Double Dragon II'' (European computer versions) (1989) *'' Risk: The World Conquest Game, The Computer Edition of'' (1989) *''

Silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically ...

'' (1989) *''

Golden Axe is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video games developed by Sega. The series takes place in a medieval fantasy world where several heroes have the task of recovering the legendary Golden Axe, the mainstay element of the series. ...

'' (European computer versions) (1990) *'' Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator'' (1990) *'' Supremacy: Your Will Be Done (Overlord)'' (1990) *'' Spot: The Video Game'' (1990) *''

Wonderland Wonderland may refer to: Places Municipalities * Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County * Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Roads, streets, and trails * Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los A ...

'' (1990) *'' Chuck Rock'' (1991) *'' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991) *''

Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

'' (1991) *'' Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker'' (1991) *''

Realms A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Ety ...

'' (1991) *''

Alien 3 ''Alien 3'' (stylized as ''A''LIEN³) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. It stars Sigourney Weaver, reprising her ...

'' (American Amiga version) (1992) *''

Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games i ...

'' (American NES version) (1992) *''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

'' (1992) *''

Dune II A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

'' (1992) *'' Archer McLean's Pool'' (1992) *'' European Club Soccer'' (1992) *'' Floor 13'' (1992) *'' Global Gladiators'' (1992) *''

'' (1992) *'' M.C. Kids'' (1992) *'' Monopoly Deluxe'' (1992) *'' Jeep Jamboree: Off Road Adventure'' (1992) *'' Cannon Fodder'' (1993) *'' Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck'' (1993) *''Superman: The Man of Steel'' (Europe only) (1993) *''

Dino Dini's Goal ''Dino Dini's Goal'' is a soccer video game released by Virgin Games in 1993. It is considered by many to be the "true" sequel to '' Kick Off 2'' (in preference to '' Kick Off 3''), as ''Kick Off''s creator Dino Dini had moved from Anco Software ...

'' (1993) *'' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'' (1993) *'' Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos'' (1993) *''Reach for the Skies'' (1993) *'' The 7th Guest'' (1993) *''

Cool Spot ''Cool Spot'' is a 1993 platform game developed and published by Virgin Games for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was ported by other teams to Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, Amiga, and MS-DOS in 199 ...

'' (1993) *'' Chi Chi's Pro Challenge Golf'' (1993) *'' Super Slam Dunk'' (1993) *''

Super Caesars Palace ''Super Caesars Palace'' is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System casino video game centered on Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the follow-up to Virgin's previous Caesars Palace (video game), ''Caesars Palace'' game. ''Super Caesars Pal ...

'' (1993) *'' Super Slap Shot'' (1993) *''

Disney's Aladdin ''Aladdin'' is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. It began with the 1992 American animated feature of the same name, which was based on the tale of the same name, and was directed by Ron Clements and John Mu ...

'' (1993) *''

RoboCop Versus The Terminator ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Fer ...

'' (1993/1994) *''

'' (Sega CD version) (1993) *'' Cannon Fodder 2'' (1994) *'' Doom II: Hell on Earth'' (European PC version only) (1994) *'' Earthworm Jim'' (Europe only) (1994) *'' Jammit'' (America only) (1994) *'' Super Dany'' (Europe only) (1994) *''

Beneath a Steel Sky ''Beneath a Steel Sky'' is a 1994 cyberpunk science fiction point-and-click adventure game developed by British developer Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for MS-DOS and Amiga home computers. The game was m ...

'' (1994) *'' Walt Disney's The Jungle Book'' (1994) *'' Dynamaite: The Las Vegas'' (1994) *''

'' (1994) *'' Demolition Man'' (1994) *''Battle Jockey'' (1994) *'' The 11th Hour'' (1995) *'' Creature Shock'' (1995) *'' Earthworm Jim 2'' (Europe only) (1995) *''

Spot Goes To Hollywood ''Spot Goes to Hollywood'' is a platforming video game developed by Eurocom and published by Acclaim Entertainment in North America and Virgin Interactive Entertainment in Europe for the Mega Drive/Genesis as the sequel to ''Cool Spot''. A Sega Sa ...

'' (American Mega Drive/Genesis version published by

) (1995) *'' Cyberia 2: Resurrection'' (1995) *''

The Daedalus Encounter ''The Daedalus Encounter'' is a 1995 interactive movie puzzle adventure game developed by Mechadeus and published by Virgin Interactive for Windows. The game was ported to the 3DO by Lifelike Productions and published by Panasonic. The prem ...

'' (1995) *'' F1 Challenge'' (1995) *''

Flight Unlimited ''Flight Unlimited'' is a 1995 aerobatic flight simulator video game developed and published by LookingGlass Technologies. It allows players to pilot reproductions of real-world aircraft and to perform aerobatic maneuvers. They may fly freely, r ...

'' (1995) *'' Hyper 3-D Pinball'' (1995) *'' SuperKarts'' (1995) *''

Zone Raiders ''Zone Raiders'' is a futuristic vehicular combat video game for DOS and Macintosh focused around hovercars. Developed by Image Space Incorporated and published by Virgin Interactive, it was released in North America in 1995. The music in the game ...

'' (1995) *''

Sensible Golf ''Sensible Golf'' is a 2D golf game released by Sensible Software in 1995 for the Amiga. It uses the same pin-like characters as ''Sensible Soccer'' and '' Cannon Fodder''. The theme tune was written by the lead game designer, Jon Hare, and a pro ...

'' (1995) *'' Lost Eden'' (1995) *'' Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing'' (1995) *''

Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Du ...

'' (1995) *'' Gurume Sentai Barayarō'' (1995) *'' World Masters Golf'' (1995) *'' Rendering Ranger: R2'' (1995) *'' Agile Warrior F-111X'' (1995) *''Lone Soldier'' (Japan only) (1996) *''

The Mask The Mask may refer to: Books and comics * ''The Mask'' (comics), a comic book series by publisher Dark Horse Comics * Mask (DC Comics), an opponent of Wonder Woman * ''The Mask'' (novel), a 1981 novel written by Dean Koontz under the pseudonym ...

'' (Japan only) (1996) *''

'' (Europe and PC versions only) (1996) *'' Ghen War'' (Europe/Japan) (1996) *'' NHL Powerplay '96'' (1996) *'' Street Fighter Alpha 2'' (Europe only) (1996) *''

Time Commando ''Time Commando'' is an action-adventure computer and video game developed by Adeline Software and published by Electronic Arts in Europe, Activision in America (United States and Brazil), and Virgin Interactive (PlayStation version) and Accla ...

'' (Japan only) (1996) *'' Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars'' (1996) *'' Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' (1996) *'' Disney's Pinocchio'' (1996) *'' Queensrÿche's Promised Land'' (1996) *''

Toonstruck ''Toonstruck'' is a graphic adventure video game developed by Burst Studios, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment and released in 1996 for DOS. In the game, a live-action protagonist Drew Blanc, played and voiced by Christopher Lloyd, i ...

'' (1996) *''

Slamscape ''Slamscape'' is a video game developed and published by Viacom New Media for Windows and the PlayStation. The game features an original soundtrack by God Lives Underwater. Gameplay ''Slamscape'' is a game in which the players search an arena ...

'' (European PS1 version) (1996) *''

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo ''Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo'', released in Japan as , is a tile-matching puzzle video game released in 1996 for the CP System II (CPS2) arcade board, by Capcom and its Capcom Coin-Op division. The game's title is a play on '' Super Street F ...

'' (PS1 and Saturn versions, Europe only) (1996) *'' Golden Nugget'' (1997) *'' Grand Slam'' (1997) *'' Subspace'' (1997) *''

Agent Armstrong ''Agent Armstrong'' is a platform game for PlayStation (console), PlayStation and Microsoft Windows developed by King of the Jungle and published by Virgin Interactive. Plot In 1935, the Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service's mo ...

'' (1997) *'' Black Dawn'' (1997) *''

Blam! Machinehead ''Blam! Machinehead'' (released in the US as ''Machine Head'') is a first-person shooter developed by Core Design and published by Virgin Interactive and Eidos Interactive, released for Sega Saturn, MS-DOS, and PlayStation in 1996. Reception '' ...

'' (Japan only) (1997) *'' CrimeWave'' (Japan only) (1997) *'' Marvel Super Heroes'' (Europe only) (1997) *'' NanoTek Warrior'' (1997) *'' Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny'' (1997) *'' Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror'' (1997) *'' Mega Man X3'' (PS1 and Saturn versions, Europe only) (1997) *'' NHL Powerplay '98'' (1997) *'' Sabre Ace: Conflict Over Korea'' (1997) *''

Ignition Ignition may refer to: Science and technology * Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses * Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant * Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...

'' (1997) *''

Bloody Roar is a series of fighting games created by Hudson Soft, and developed together with Eighting. The series has been published by multiple companies, including Virgin Interactive, Activision, and Konami. Konami holds the rights to the franchise aft ...

'' (Europe only) (1998) *'' Magic & Mayhem'' (Europe only) (1998) *'' R-Types'' (Europe only) (1998) *'' Rival Schools: United by Fate'' (Europe only) (1998) *''

Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens a ...

'' (Europe only) (1998) *'' Street Fighter Collection 2'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *''

Bloody Roar 2 ''Bloody Roar 2'', known as ''Bloody Roar 2: Bringer of the New Age'' in Europe and Japan and as ''Bloody Roar II: The New Breed'' in the United States, is a fighting game, fighting arcade game developed by Eighting and Raizing in 1999. It is the ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Bomberman'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Bomberman Quest'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Capcom Generations'' (Europe only) (1999) *'' Kagero: Deception II'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *''

Dino Crisis is a survival horror and action-adventure video game series created by Shinji Mikami and developed and published by Capcom. The plot focuses on recurring outbreaks of deadly dinosaurs in closed environments, such as a laboratory on an islan ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Holy Magic Century'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Street Fighter EX2 Plus'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *''

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter is a crossover fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to '' X-Men vs. Street Fighter'' and the second installment in the ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' series. The game was first released as an arcade game in 1997. It ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams'' (European publishing rights only) (1999) *'' Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *''

Tech Romancer is a 1998 3D fighting arcade game by Capcom that draws heavily from the various subgenres of mecha anime. It was later ported to the Dreamcast console. The player controls a giant robot which is used to fight another robot in one-on-one combat. S ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Operation WinBack'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Bomberman Fantasy Race'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Street Fighter III: Double Impact'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *''

Street Fighter Alpha 3 ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the ''Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, wh ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *''

Dino Crisis 2 is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It is the second installment in the ''Dino Crisis'' series. After the events of the previous game, unsafe research into ti ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Gunlok'' (Europe only) (2000) *'' Super Runabout: The Golden State'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Strider 2'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Giga Wing'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Capcom vs. SNK'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' (European Dreamcast version only) (2000) *''

Trick'N Snowboarder ''Trick'N Snowboarder'', known in Japan as , is a snowboarding video game published by Capcom in 1999. It is the follow-up to Cave (company), Cave's previous snowboarding game, ''Steep Slope Sliders''. Unlike its predecessor, which was released ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Jimmy White's 2: Cueball'' (Distributed in North America by BAM! Entertainment) (2000) *'' Pocket Racing'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Mr. Driller'' (Dreamcast and GBC versions, Europe only) (2000) *''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Evolva'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *'' Project Justice'' (European publishing rights only) (2000) *''Heist'' (titled as ''Raub'' in Germany) (2001) *''

Gunbird 2 is a 2D scrolling shooter developed by Psikyo and published by Capcom as a sequel to the original '' Gunbird''. It was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1998, and was later ported to the Dreamcast in 2000 and released worldwide. An An ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2001) *'' European Super League'' (Europe Only) (2001) *'' 3D Pocket Pool'' (Europe Only) (2001) *'' Project Justice: Rival Schools 2'' (European publishing rights only) (2001) *'' Bloody Roar III'' (European publishing rights only) (2001) *'' Original War'' (2001) *'' Screamer 4x4'' (2001) *'' Codename: Outbreak'' (2001) *''

Lotus Challenge ''Lotus Challenge'' is a racing game developed by Kuju Entertainment and published in 2001 for PlayStation 2 by Virgin Interactive. Versions followed for Windows, GameCube, and Xbox from different publishers. Development Virgin Interactive first ...

'' (European PS2 version) (2001) *'' Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic'' (European publishing rights only) (2001) *''

'' (Europe exclusive game) (2001) *'' Resident Evil: Gaiden'' (European publishing rights only) (2001) *'' Nightstone'' (2001) *''

Guilty Gear X subtitled ''By Your Side'' in Japan, is a fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Sammy Studios. The second installment of the '' Guilty Gear'' series, ''Guilty Gear X'' was developed over a period of about two years after ...

'' (European publishing rights only) (2002)

Notes

References

External links

Official website (archived through 2003)

Avalon Interactive Portal
(offline)
Virgin Interactive
profile on

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

{{Virgin Group Companies based in Orange County, California Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Golden Joystick Award winners I Video game companies established in 1983 Video game companies disestablished in 2006