 Final Logo used from 2010 to 2013 | |
| Formerly |
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|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | March 22, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-03-22) inLos Angeles andRedmond, Washington |
| Founders |
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| Defunct | January 30, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-01-30) |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Successor | Ripple Effect Studios |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
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| Products | See§ Games developed |
Number of employees | 75 (1995) |
| Parent |
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Danger Close Games (formerlyDreamWorks Interactive LLC andEA Los Angeles) was an Americanvideo game developer based inLos Angeles. The company was founded on March 22, 1995, asjoint venture betweenDreamWorks SKG andMicrosoft (later moved toMicrosoft Games) under the name DreamWorks Interactive, with studios inRedmond, Washington, and Los Angeles.[1]
In February 2000, the Los Angeles studio of DreamWorks Interactive was acquired byElectronic Arts and renamed EA Los Angeles, and to Danger Close Games in 2010. The studio's sole responsibility after 2010 was to develop games in theMedal of Honor franchise. When the series was put on hold in January 2013, Danger Close was shut down, with some staff moving on toDICE LA (now Ripple Effect Studios), a Los Angeles studio ofDICE, another subsidiary of Electronic Arts.
DreamWorks SKG andMicrosoft announced on March 22, 1995, that they were establishing avideogame development company, DreamWorks Interactive LLC, as ajoint venture following a Microsoft investment that acquired a minority stake in DreamWorks SKG as a whole. The studio's operations were to be set up inLos Angeles,California,[2] with a smaller group near Microsoft headquarters inRedmond, Washington.[3] Both Microsoft and DreamWorks initially invested $30 million in the studio, which would soon be employing 75 people.[4]
Steven Spielberg was primarily responsible for negotiations with Microsoft to establish DreamWorks Interactive, which secured funding for the studio.[4] To manage DreamWorks Interactive, Microsoft relocated one of itsexecutive game producers, Alan Hartman,[5] while film industry veteran Glenn Entis served as the studio'sCEO following DreamWorks' acquisition of Pacific Data Images.[6][7] John A. S. Skeel, one of the founders of DreamWorks Interactive, led the Redmond studio, primarily responsible for publishing games developed by independent studios.[8] DreamWorks Interactive was intended to gradually develop synergies with thetelevision andfilm divisions of DreamWorks, which still hadn't released content yet in 1995. In an April 1995 interview, DreamWorks co-founderDavid Geffen also speculated that themusic division of DreamWorks could possibly find synergies with DreamWorks Interactive, saying "we don't really know what the effect of interactivity will be on music."[9]
On June 1, 1995, DreamWorks SKG andSilicon Graphics formed a $50 million agreement to create a newcomputer animation system using hardware and software.[10] Initially focused on the movie industry, the alliance between the companies was also connected with the creation of DreamWorks Interactive, which, adding to Microsoft's financing and technologies, would also be used in video games.[11] On March 25, 1997, the company signed a distribution deal withElectronic Arts.[12]
According to Leslie Helm of theLos Angeles Times, the company's initial computer game titles were relatively unsuccessful. Its biggest hit by August 1997 wasGoosebumps: Escape from Horrorland, with sales of 130,000 units, according toPC Data. Helm called this "a modest success".[13] In 1996, Microsoft moved DreamWorks SKG art director Matt Hall to DreamWorks Interactive with the goal of creating a new first-person shooter game franchise based on the Spielberg concept.[14]
In 1999, the studio saw its most successful release withfirst-person shooter video gameMedal of Honor, published byElectronic Arts on October 31, 1999, forPlayStation.Medal of Honor laid the groundwork for historic war-based combat games, ultimately leading toActivision'sCall of Duty series.[15] However, the studio's reputation had been hampered by the 1998 release ofTrespasser, a game based on theJurassic Park franchise.Trespasser had numerous technical flaws in attempting to create a realistic physics engine, and introduced mechanics that were considered awkward at the time of its release, such as the player having separate control of the player-character's limbs. The title sold only 50,000 units and is considered one of theworst video games of all time,[16] and left Steven Spielberg, one of the owners of DreamWorks, in doubt about continuing a video game company.[17]
With DreamWorks losing interest in maintaining a video game division, Electronic Artsacquired the Los Angeles studio of DreamWorks Interactive from DreamWorks and Microsoft on February 24, 2000, acquiring theintellectual property and rights of the acclaimed seriesMedal of Honor from Microsoft/DreamWorks.[18][19] Analysts atThe Wall Street Journal estimate the purchase cost around $10 million.[20] The company was renamed EA Los Angeles and focused on developing titles in theMedal of Honor series, releasingMedal of Honor: Underground the same year.[21] On August 6, 2003, EA Los Angeles moved from their offices inBel Air to a new campus inPlaya Vista.[22] On that campus, the studio was merged withEA Pacific in 2003, and received some employees from previously closedWestwood Studios, leading EA Los Angeles to start working in theCommand & Conquer series.[23]
The Redmond studio's operations were consolidated within Microsoft, which at the time was founding its own in-house video game division,Microsoft Games. As a result, DreamWorks Interactive head Alan Hartman becameDigital Anvil'shead of studio,[5] with remaining DWI Redmond employees moving to the newly foundedTurn 10 Studios.[24]
In July 2010, EA Los Angeles was rebranded to Danger Close Games to focus on the development ofMedal of Honor games.[25] With the rebranding referencing a term from theMedal of Honor series, the studio would exclusively focus on theMedal of Honor games.[26] Their first project was the 2010Medal of Honor, which was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 12, 2010.[27] A follow-up,Medal of Honor: Warfighter, was released on October 23, 2012.[citation needed] In January 2013, Electronic Arts announced that theMedal of Honor series was taken 'out of rotation' and put on hold, following to the poor reception received byWarfighter.[28] With this move, Danger Close was effectively closed; some developers moved to other EA studios, while others left the Los Angeles area.[29][30] Some senior staff of Danger Close formed the groundwork for DICE LA, a sub-studio ofEA DICE, which was formed in May 2013.[31]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Clive Barker's Undying | macOS, Microsoft Windows |
| 2002 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | GameCube,PlayStation 2,Xbox |
| 2003 | Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour | macOS, Microsoft Windows |
| 2003 | Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | GameCube,PlayStation 2,Xbox |
| 2004 | GoldenEye: Rogue Agent | GameCube,PlayStation 2,Xbox |
| Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | Microsoft Windows | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth | ||
| 2005 | Medal of Honor: European Assault | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2006 | The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II | Microsoft Windows,Xbox 360 |
| 2007 | Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars | macOS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 |
| Medal of Honor: Vanguard | PlayStation 2,Wii | |
| Medal of Honor: Airborne | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | |
| Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 | PlayStation Portable,Wii | |
| 2008 | Boom Blox | Wii |
| Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 | macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | |
| 2009 | Boom Blox Bash Party | Wii |
| 2010 | Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight | Microsoft Windows |
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Medal of Honor | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2012 | Medal of Honor: Warfighter |
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