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| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Bo and Ulf Andersson |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Successor | Overkill Software |
| Headquarters | , Sweden |
Key people | Bo Andersson Ulf Andersson |
| Products | Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Bionic Commando Bionic Commando Rearmed |
Grin AB was avideo game developer based inStockholm, Sweden. Founded by Bo and Ulf Andersson in 1997, Grin worked on numerous titles for thePC,consoles andarcade. Grin filed for bankruptcy and became defunct on August 12, 2009, and its founders went on to createOverkill Software.
Grin was founded by brothers Bo and Ulf Andersson in 1997.After Grin's first releaseBallistics (PC, arcade), in 2001, Grin released the critically acclaimedBandits: Phoenix Rising (PC) and several arcade machines, as well as military and civilian simulators. Grin went on to develop two games for Ubisoft,Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (PC) andTom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (PC).Bionic Commando Rearmed (downloadable via Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, PC),Bionic Commando (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC),Wanted: Weapons of Fate (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC) andTerminator Salvation were the last titles, released in 2008-2009.[1] In 2007, Grin expanded into offices on theBarcelona,Spain beach front, in theTorre Mapfre skyscraper, followed by another studio in the center ofGothenburg,Sweden, along with the Grin Jakarta QA studio, located in the center ofJakarta,Indonesia. 250 people in total were developing games for theXbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Grin began preproduction work on aFinal Fantasy spin-off game,Fortress, in the second half of 2008 when Square Enix outsourced it to the Swedish developer.[2] The development team, based inStockholm, began creating concept art, 3D models and agame engine, thinking ofFortress as a "game with an epic scale both in story and production values".[3] In addition to original characters and locations, concept art for the game depictedAshe and a Judge character fromFinal Fantasy XII,[4][5] andchocobos and otherrecurring creatures of the series.[3][4] The score was also being produced.[6] However, after six months of development, Square Enix reclaimed the project without paying Grin, due to concerns over the quality of the work.[2][7] Grin co-founders Ulf and Bo Andersson claimed that "Square Enix had already made up its mind thatFortress wasn't a project it wanted anymore".[8] Square Enix's withdrawal left the Swedish developer in financial difficulty and with no other ongoing game project.[2]
In 2009, Grin closed its offices in Barcelona and Gothenburg, citing financial difficulties.[9][10] On 12 August 2009 Grin filed for bankruptcy. Later the same day, the official Grin site published the news that the company was closing down.[11][12] Grin noted that delayed payments from "too many publishers" caused "an unbearable cashflow situation" and mentioning in a farewell note their "unreleased masterpiece that [they] weren't allowed to finish".[2][13]
Former members of Grin formed a new development studio,Might and Delight, which focuses on small, downloadable games.[14] Together with the owners ofFatshark, the former lead engineers of Grin started middleware developerBitsquid, which was later bought by Autodesk.[15] Former quality assurance members formed a separate studio called Trinity QA Studio in June 2010.[16] Bo and Ulf Andersson (along with their friendSimon Viklund) went on to formOverkill Software. Bertil Hörberg, who worked on both Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed, went on to form Hörberg Productions, a one-man studio responsible for the well-receivedGunman Clive (Nintendo 3DS,iOS,Android,Steam) and its sequelGunman Clive 2 (3DS, Steam).[17] The games were bundled together asGunman Clive HD Collection forWii U andNintendo Switch.
The Diesel engine was originally developed for their gameBallistics and has been used, albeit with modifications, in a number of other games since then. The first installment of the engine was developed in close collaboration withNvidia, aimed to showcase the capabilities of their latestgraphics chip at the time, theGeForce 3. The engine is currently in use byOverkill Software, former owners of the now defunct developer Grin. Overkill's game,Payday: The Heist, uses a modified version of this engine.Payday 2 andRaid: World War II run on the second generation Diesel engine 2.0.
| Release date | Titles | Genre | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Ballistics | Racing | Microsoft Windows,Arcade |
| 2003 | Bandits: Phoenix Rising | Vehicular combat | Microsoft Windows |
| 2006 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Tactical shooter | Microsoft Windows |
| 2007 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 | Tactical shooter | Microsoft Windows |
| 2008 | Bionic Commando Rearmed | Platformer | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation Network,Xbox Live Arcade |
| 2009 | Wanted: Weapons of Fate | Third-person shooter | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360 |
| 2009 | Bionic Commando | Action,platformer | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2009 | Terminator Salvation | Third-person shooter, action | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Cancelled | Fortress (codename) | Action-adventure | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Cancelled | UnnamedStrider reboot[18] | Action game | Unknown |
| Cancelled | UnnamedStreets of Rage remake[18] | Beat'em-up | Unknown |
| Cancelled | Cult (codename) | Third-person shooter, action | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Cancelled | Vultures | Hack-and-slash | Xbox |
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