| File:Monolith Productions logo.png Logo from 2005 to present | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | October 25, 1994[1] |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Kirkland, Washington, USA |
Number of employees | 100+ (2004)[2] |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| Website | lith |
Monolith Productions is an American video game developer based in Kirkland, Washington. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired Monolith Productions in August 2004.[3]
History[]
Monolith Productions was founded in October 15, 1994 by Brian Goble, Brian Waite, Bryan Bouwman, Garrett Price, Jace Hall, Paul Renault, and Toby Gladwell.[4]
Co-Founder Brian Goble had this to say regarding the company name.
At the time we formed the company, DOS was still the OS of choice for games. Because of this, we knew we had to come up with a name that was 8 characters or less (for 8.3 filenames). We had been researching story and technology ideas for our demo CD and we were watching a lot of movies. "Monolith" came up, was semi mysterious, wasn't taken, and was 8 characters. Perfect.[4]
The company is known for their games Blood, the No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R series. Monolith is also known for the development of the graphical game engine LithTech, which has been used for most of their games and premiered with Shogo: Mobile Armor Division in September 1998; they also used Brian Goble's Windows Animation Package 32 engine for their 2D games. Between 1997 and 1999, Monolith also published games – some developed by the studio, some by third parties.
In 2004, Monolith Productions was acquired by Warner Bros.[3]
In 2014, they released Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the game was heavily praised. Following after that with a sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War released in 2017, also critically praised.
List of video games[]
1994–2003[]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amiga | DOS | GBA | Lin | Mac | PS2 | Win | Xbox | |||
| 1994 | Maabus[A] | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| 1997 | Blood | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Claw | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 1998 | Rage of Mages[A] | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Get Medieval | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| Shogo: Mobile Armor Division | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
| Blood II: The Chosen | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 1999 | Gruntz | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Rage of Mages II: Necromancer[A] | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator[A] | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter 2 | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| Gorky 17[A] | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2000 | Sanity: Aiken's Artifact | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| The Operative: No One Lives Forever | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 2001 | Tex Atomic's Big Bot Battles | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Aliens Versus Predator 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2002 | No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 2003 | Tron 2.0 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Contract J.A.C.K. | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| Notes A These games were published, not developed, by Monolith Productions. | ||||||||||
2005–present[]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lin | PS3 | PS4 | Win | XB360 | XBO | ||||
| 2005 | The Matrix Online | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| F.E.A.R. | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| Condemned: Criminal Origins | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| 2008 | Condemned 2: Bloodshot | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2009 | F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 2012 | Gotham City Impostors | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Guardians of Middle-earth | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| 2014 | Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Middle-earth: Shadow of War | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Notes | |||||||||
References[]
- ↑ MonolithDev (October 2, 2019). "October 25th is Monolith's 25th Anniversary. Twenty. Five. Years. In the business. And we've got a lot of fun stuff planned this month to celebrate. Stay tuned here for a big ol' look back at a long history of #gamedev" (Tweet).<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Fahey, Rob (January 16, 2004). "Monolith Productions appoints new CEO". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved October 27, 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thorsen, Tor (August 12, 2004). "Warner Bros. buys Monolith Productions". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 12, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2016.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Keefer, John (March 31, 2006). "GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 12 of 19". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
External links[]
- Official website
- Monolith Productions profile on MobyGames
- Monolith Productions entry on Giant Bomb
- Monolith Productions history
| Monolith Productions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Games developed |
Blood | Blood (Blood: Plasma Pak) • Blood II: The Chosen (The Nightmare Levels) |
| No One Lives Forever | The Operative: No One Lives Forever • No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way • Contract J.A.C.K. | |
| F.E.A.R. | F.E.A.R. • F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin • F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn | |
| Condemned | Condemned: Criminal Origins • Condemned 2: Bloodshot | |
| Middle-earth games | Guardians of Middle-earth • Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor • Middle-earth: Shadow of War | |
| Other games | Aliens versus Predator 2 • Claw • Get Medieval • Gotham City Impostors • Gruntz • Sanity: Aiken's Artifact • Shogo: Mobile Armor Division • Tex Atomic's Big Bot Battles • Tron 2.0 • The Matrix Online | |
| Games published | Maabus • Rage of Mages • Gorky 17 • Septerra Core | |
| Companies | 3D Realms (Q Studios) • GT Interactive Software • Fox Interactive • Buena Vista Interactive • Sierra Entertainment • Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment • Snowblind Studios • Surreal Software • Sandlot Games • HipSoft | |
| People | Jace Hall • Daniel Bernstein • Guy Whitmore • Joe Ybarra • Stephan Weyte | |
| Related | Cate Archer • LithTech • Priest • Betrayer | |
| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current franchises | Batman: Arkham • F.E.A.R. • Game Party • Lego • Middle-earth • Mortal Kombat • Scribblenauts • Spy Hunter | |
| Current subsidiaries | Monolith Productions • NetherRealm Studios • Rocksteady Studios • TT Games (Traveller's Tales • TT Fusion) • Turbine, Inc. • Warner Bros. Games Montréal | |
| Former subsidiaries | Snowblind Studios • Surreal Software | |
| Related | Diane Nelson • Eidos Interactive • List of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment video games • Midway Games • Time Warner • Warner Bros. | |
| Warner Bros. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Founders | Jack L. Warner • Harry Warner • Albert Warner • Sam Warner | |
| Executives | Kevin Tsujihara (Chairman and CEO) | |
| Feature film production | Warner Bros. Pictures • Warner Animation Group • New Line Cinema • Castle Rock Entertainment • Flagship Entertainment (joint venture with CMC) | |
| TV production and distribution |
Alloy Entertainment • Telepictures • WB Animation • Warner Bros. Television • Warner Bros. International Television • Warner Bros. International Television Production (WB TV Productions UK • Shed Productions • Eyeworks | |
| Broadcast TV | Terrestrial TV | The CW (co-owned with CBS) |
| Cable TV | Warner Channel (with HBO Latin America Group and HBO Asia) • WB Channel (with Turner International India) | |
| Warner Bros. Interactive |
Avalanche Software • Monolith Productions • NetherRealm Studios • Rocksteady Studios • TT Games (TT Games Publishing • TT Fusion • Traveller's Tales • TT Animation • Playdemic) • Turbine • WB Games Montréal • WB Games New York • WB Games San Francisco | |
| Warner Bros. Digital Networks | DramaFever • Machinima, Inc. • Warner Archive Instant | |
| DC Entertainment | DC Films • DC Comics (Mad • Vertigo) | |
| Home video | Warner Home Video • Warner Archive Collection | |
| Public attractions | Warner Bros. Studio Tours | |
| Miscellaneous assets | Turner Entertainment Co. • Hanna-Barbera • WaterTower Music • Fandango (30%) | |