 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: AKLM (pre-2004) OTC Pink: AKLMQ (2004) | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1987; 39 years ago (1987) inOyster Bay, New York, U.S. |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | September 1, 2004; 21 years ago (2004-09-01) |
| Fate | Chapter 7 bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Brands | AKA Acclaim (formerly Acclaim Max Sports) Club Acclaim Acclaim Sports |
Number of employees | 585 (2004) |
| Subsidiaries | See§ Subsidiaries |
| Website | www |
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an Americanvideo game publisher based inGlen Cove, New York. Originally founded byGreg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki from a storefront inOyster Bay in 1987, the company built a global development team through a series of acquisitions during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Following disappointing financial results in their 2003fiscal year, Acclaim filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy on September 1, 2004. The properties owned by Acclaim were subsequently auctioned off to various parties, most notably Howard Marks, a formerActivision CEO, launchedAcclaim Games which continued to exist until 2010 whenPlaydom acquired and closed the company. A group of investors launched a new company using the Acclaim trademark in 2025.
In the early 1980s,Greg Fischbach was employed by the American video game companyActivision, where he worked alongside Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki. After leaving Activision, he joinedRCA Records, which was subsequently acquired byBertelsmann, leaving Fischbach unemployed. In 1987, he met with Scoroposki inOyster Bay, where Scoroposki owned asales rep company, to discuss a potential joint venture. After Scoroposki suggested that they re-enter the video game industry, they contacted Holmes to join them, and the three co-founded Acclaim Entertainment.[1] Acclaim did not secure anyventure financing and was entirely financed by Fischbach and Scoroposki.[2] In its early years, Acclaim operated exclusively as avideo game publisher, either outsourcing the development of its video games toexternal developers or localizing existing titles from overseas. However, as the company expanded, it acquired several independent studios, includingIguana Entertainment ofAustin, Texas;Probe Entertainment ofLondon, England; andSculptured Software ofSalt Lake City, Utah.[3][4]
The company's name was chosen to ensure it was alphabetically positioned above its co-founder's former employer,Activision, as well as aboveAccolade, another company established by former Activision employees. This naming convention was a common practice among new companies founded by ex-Activision employees, as the founders of Activision had similarly adopted this strategy when they leftAtari.[citation needed]
Many of Acclaim's products featured licenses from popularcomics,television series, andmovies.[5] Fischbach noted that during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the video game market was less discerning, with specialized gaming publications exerting minimal influence on consumer opinion. Consequently, leveraging a popular license became one of the few reliable strategies to persuade retailers to stock a game.[2] In its early years, the company entered into an agreement with Interactive VCR Games Inc., whose bestsellers includedNFL Quarterback, to produce interactive VCR games, as well as expand into the handheld game market.[6][7] Acclaim was also responsible for porting many ofMidway's arcade games in the early to mid-1990s, including theMortal Kombat series. Additionally, they published several games from companies that, at the time of publication, did not have an American branch, such asTechnōs Japan'sDouble Dragon II: The Revenge andTaito'sBust-a-Move series.
In 1990, Acclaim partnered with TV producerSaban Entertainment and distributorBohbot Entertainment to launchVideo Power, which subsequently premiered in the fall of 1990.[8]
In December 1993, Acclaim signed a distribution deal with the European Spanish branch ofBuena Vista Home Video, allowing the company to distribute its titles in Spain.[9]
In May 1994, Tom Petit, former president ofSega Enterprises USA, who had worked at Sega for nine years, became the president of Acclaim's coin-op division.[10]
Throughout much of the 1990s, Acclaim was one of the most successful publishers of console video games in the world. In the financial year ending August 1994, the company reported a profit of $481 million, which rose to $585 million the following year.[5][11] Franchises such asMortal Kombat,NBA Jam, andNFL Quarterback Club served as reliablecash cows for Acclaim.[2] Acclaim's expansion continued with the signing of a relationship withMarvel Entertainment Group, wherein Acclaim managed the video game licenses for some of Marvel's comic book properties.[12] Later that year, the company acquired a minority interest in the FMV gaming studioDigital Pictures and began releasing its titles through Acclaim Distribution.[13]
In 1995, the company acquired Sculptured Software, Iguana Entertainment, and Probe Entertainment, with these entities transitioning to the first-party development studio known as Acclaim Studios from 1999 to 2004.[4][14] Acclaim's gaming business further expanded with the acquisition of exclusive rights to publish Taito's games in theWestern Hemisphere.[11] The company also constructed amotion capture studio at its headquarters, making it the first video game company to have an in-house motion capture studio.[15]
A less prominent aspect of Acclaim's business was the development and publication ofstrategy guides related to their software products, along with the issuance of "special edition"comicmagazines viaAcclaim Comics to support their more lucrativebrand names. Additionally, they created the ASF/AMCmotion capture format, which remains in use in the industry today.[16]
Acclaim enjoyed a long-standing relationship with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) that dates back to 1988'sWWF WrestleMania. However, after failing to replicate the success ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW)'sTHQ/AKI games during theMonday Night Wars, the WWF announced in April 1998 that it would not renew its deal with Acclaim, opting instead to sign a joint-publishing agreement withJakks Pacific and THQ after WCW's contract with the latter publisher expired and signed a deal with rivalElectronic Arts.[17]
Acclaim closed its coin-op division in early 1998, transferring the key personnel and resources to its New York development studios.[18]
In October 1999, Acclaim signed a contract withExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) to publish video games based on the promotion.[19] Under this agreement, Acclaim released two video games until ECW declared bankruptcy in 2001, leaving the promotion still owing Acclaim money. The game publisher subsequently released three wrestling titles under theLegends of Wrestling banner during its final years.[20]
Acclaim faced significant financial difficulties in 2004, primarily due to poor sales of itsvideo game titles. This situation led to the closure ofAcclaim Studios Cheltenham andAcclaim Studios Manchester inEngland, along with other locations, and resulted in their filing forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection, leaving many employees unpaid. Among the titles under development at the UK studios wereEmergency Mayhem,ATV Quad Power Racing 3,The Last Job,Interview with a Made Man, andKung Faux.[21][22]
In May 2004, it was announced thatMajor League Baseball had revoked its licensing agreement with Acclaim for theAll-Star Baseball franchise due to a failure to make royalty payments. The following month, in June,Turok ownersClassic Media announced that they had terminated Acclaim's video game rights to the franchise, also due to non-payment of royalties.[23]
When Acclaim's agreement with GMAC Commercial Finance, their primary lender, expired on August 20, 2004, the company closed all of its facilities on August 27. This closure resulted in the termination of all employees at the Austin and New York studios.[24][25][26] Prior to the closures, Acclaim employed 585 staff worldwide as of March 31, 2004.[24] On August 30, Acclaim announced its intention to file for bankruptcy,[27] officially filing forChapter 7 bankruptcy with theUnited States bankruptcy court inCentral Islip, New York on September 1.[28][29]
In September 2005, a complaint filed in the same court sought to hold the company's founders, including Fischbach and Scorposki, and several executives accountable for Acclaim's financial losses shortly before the bankruptcy filing, seeking$150 million in damages.[30]
On October 1, 2004, Rod Cousens acquired the former Acclaim Studios Cheltenham and Acclaim Studios Manchester development studios, along with several of its unfinished projects. Cousens sought to reopen the studios under a new publisher provisionally named "Exclaim" on October 11,[31] but his efforts were hindered by a lawsuit and legal disputes over Acclaim'sintellectual property, with both US and UK administrators asserting their claims.[32]
Following interested offers fromTake Two Interactive, it was announced on October 8 thatTHQ had acquired the worldwide publishing rights toJuiced.[33]
In November 2004, Acclaim's headquarters were sold to Anthony Pistilli of Pistilli Realty Group for $6 million.[34]
On April 20, 2005, Fund4Games announced that Acclaim's upcoming European titles had been sold to them, withInterview with a Made Man andATV Quad Power Racing 3 being returned to development at the Manchester studios, which were reopened by Fund4Games under the name Silverback Studios.[35] In June 2006,Mastertronic announced that it had acquired the publishing rights toMade Man in Europe.[36]
TheDave Mirra Freestyle BMX andATV: Quad Power Racing franchises were sold toCrave Entertainment in July 2005.[37]
In August 2005, former Activision executive Howard Marks acquired the Acclaim brand and logo for a reported $100,000. At the beginning of 2006, Marks established a new company namedAcclaim Games. According to a job listing for the company, Acclaim Games targeted the US and UK preteen multiplayer markets. However, the second iteration of Acclaim struggled due to connectivity and payment issues for their online games, as well as a lack of action against dishonest players, earning this iteration an "F" grade from the Los Angeles/Southern CaliforniaBetter Business Bureau.[38]
In 2006,Throwback Entertainment acquired more than 50 of Acclaim's games and committed to bringing titles such asRe-Volt,Extreme-G,Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance,Vexx,Fur Fighters, and many other franchises into the next generation and beyond.[39]
In March 2007, budget publisherXS Games acquired the publishing rights toThe Red Star, withTake-Two Interactive managing European distribution.[40] In April 2007,Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, then the North American distributor forCodemasters' products, announced that the British publisher had acquired the rights toEmergency Mayhem.[41]
In July 2010, the South Korean-based company We Go Interactive acquiredRe-Volt,RC Revenge, andRC De Go! (developed and owned byTaito) from Throwback.[42]
In October 2015, Gregarious Games, LLC were reported to be the current owners of the Acclaim trademark.[43] In May 2016, the Acclaim brand was acquired by Collectorvision, an independent game developer, publisher, and manufacturer.[44]
In October 2018, Liquid Media Group purchased 65 former Acclaim titles from Throwback for $1 million. This acquisition primarily included installments in theNBA Jam,AFL Live,All-Star Baseball, andNFL Quarterback Club franchises, as well as games from Japanese developerTaito that Acclaim had published outside of Japan.[45]
On March 4, 2025, it was announced that a group of executives purchased the Acclaim trademark and would relaunch Acclaim Entertainment as an indie publisher and potentially purchase former Acclaim IP.[46]
The company, Acclaim, Inc., is led by Russell Binder, Mark Caplan and wrestlerJeff Jarrett, while Graffiti Games CEO Alex Josef was appointed as Acclaim's new CEO.[47]
On September 10, 2025, the revived company announced a slate of nine indie games, during their newly described, "Play Acclaim Showcase".[48][49] During the showcase, Acclaim, Inc. announced that two of their nine announced titles,Katanaut, an all-new action platformer with science fiction and samurai elements, was made immediately available for PC andBasketball Classics, a retro-style basketball game developed by Namo Gamo, was being sold for both PC and coming soon to Home Consoles.[50][51][52]
During Acclaim's decline towards bankruptcy, the company made several controversial business and marketing decisions in the United Kingdom. One notable example was a promise to award a US$10,000 (£6,000) prize to UK parents who named their baby "Turok" to promote the release ofTurok: Evolution.[53] A subsequent investigation byVG247 revealed that all those who had reportedly changed their names were actors.[54] Another controversial initiative involved an attempt to purchase advertising space on tombstones forShadow Man: 2econd Coming.[53] To promoteBurnout 2: Point of Impact, Acclaim offered to reimburse any driver in the United Kingdom who received a speeding ticket. However, following negative reactions from the UK government, the plan was ultimately canceled.[55]
In the United States, Acclaim faced multiplelawsuits, several of which involved former partners.Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen sued over unpaid royalties.[56] Another lawsuit was brought by Acclaim's own investors, who claimed that Acclaim management had published misleading financial reports.[57]
In the final iteration of the BMX series,BMX XXX, nudity and semi-nudity (includingfull motion video of strippers and nude female riders) were incorporated in an attempt to boost sales.[57] However, like most of Acclaim's video games during the company's final years,BMX XXX sold poorly and was criticized for its sexual content and subpar gameplay.Dave Mirra publicly disowned the game, stating that he had no involvement in the decision to include nudity, and he subsequently sued Acclaim out of concern for being associated withBMX XXX.[58]
In 1997, two years after its acquisition ofSculptured Software, Acclaim terminated approximately half of the staff at the Salt Lake City studio, violating the terms of the contracts it had provided to employees, which appeared to be iron-clad and included stock that would vest over the contract period. The layoffs were abrupt, forcing employees to choose between accepting a reasonable severance package (the terms of which changed multiple times during the initial weeks after the layoff) and foregoing the right to sue, or joining other creditors in litigation, thereby losing their severance packages. In 2007, one of several class action suits filed on behalf of stockholders was won, enabling some employees to recover a portion of the stock that had vested.[59]
The acquisitions, which bring an additional 250 programmers, musicians, graphic artists, and engineers, follow Acclaim's purchase of Iguana Entertainment earlier this year.
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