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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | Simis |
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) |
| Parent | Catalis Group (2007–present) |
| Subsidiaries | Headstrong Games (2000–2017) Vatra Games (2009–2012) Zoë Mode (2004–2016) |
| Website | www |
Kuju Entertainment Ltd. was a Britishvideo game developer. It is a successor toSimis, which was formed in 1989 and purchased byEidos Interactive in 1995. Kuju was formed in 1998 inShalford, Surrey, England, after a management buyout of Simis from Eidos.
Kuju released titles across different devices, ranging fromArt Academy on theNintendo DS,The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest andBattalion Wars 2 for theWii, and anXbox One title,Powerstar Golf.
Ian Baverstock and Jonathan Newth opened Simis in 1989 and produced a number offlight simulator programs likeMiG-29 Fulcrum. In 1995, the company was purchased by Eidos and operated as an in-house development studio. In 1998, Baverstock and Newth led a management buyout of the studio from Eidos Interactive, forming Kuju Ltd.
The name "Kuju" originates from the initials of the founders’ first names: Ian Baverstock and Jonathan Newth. Jonathan was leafing through a Japanese dictionary when he found the numbers nine and ten – "ku" and "ju" – corresponding to the positions of "I" and "J" in the English alphabet. The combined result was Kuju. Their first game wasTank Racer,[1] a 3D action racer forPC,PlayStation andmobile.[citation needed]
By 2001, Kuju was employing a team of 80 developers, in three separate offices around the UK in London, Surrey and Brighton. Their most notable project at the time wasMicrosoft Train Simulator.[2] In 2002, Kuju floated on theAlternative Investments Market (AIM) of theLondon Stock Exchange. Shortly thereafter the company signed its first game withTHQ based on theGames Workshop franchise,Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior. In the following years between 2002 and 2007, Kuju developed titles includingSingStar games and theBattalion Wars franchise.[citation needed] Kuju was one of the companies considered to develop thegame engine forBBC's game showFightBox.[3]
In 2007, Kuju Ltd. was acquired by a German media investment firm, Catalis SE. Soon after, Kuju Brighton was rebranded to Zoë Mode, and in 2008, Kuju London rebranded toHeadstrong Games. In 2010, Headstrong Games completed development ofArt Academy for theNintendo DS console.[4] In June 2012, Dominic Wheatley, co-founder ofDomark, was appointed as CEO; while Gary Bracey, former vice-president of development atOcean Software, was appointed as commercial director.[5]
The studio was formed in 2000 as Kuju London. In 2008, it was rebranded as Headstrong Games.[6]
Headstrong Games has developed versions ofThe House of the Dead: Overkill,The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest andTop Gun: Hard Lock. Original intellectual properties includeArt Academy, which was developed for and owned byNintendo. They also developed theBattalion Wars series, instalments in Nintendo'sWars series.
The studio was formed from the team that madeGeometry Wars: Galaxies. They also made the zombie themed shooter,Burn Zombie Burn!. The company has received awards and nominations since its inception; notably that of the develop "Best New UK Studio 2008" and a nomination for best hand-held game (Geometry Wars: Galaxies) at the 2009BAFTAs. They also worked on a successor toBurn Zombie Burn!, entitledAll Zombies Must Die!.[7] The studio side of Doublesix was closed in 2012 after handing development ofStrike Suit Zero to Born Ready Games.[8]
Vatra Games was a Czech video game studio founded in 2009[9][10] when Kuju Entertainment was seeking developers to establish a new studio. At the same time, several developers from2K Czech were retiring. These developers decided to form a new studio, which became Vatra Games. In July 2012, four months after the March release ofSilent Hill: Downpour, Kuju Entertainment Limited terminated its contract with Vatra Games. In September 2012, Vatra Games was declared bankrupt.[11]
In 2003, Kuju Entertainment hired the Wide Games team to create the video games studio Kuju Brighton.[12] In 2007, Kuju Brighton was rebranded to Zoë Mode.[13][14] The studio's first release under its new name wasCrush forSega.[14] In 2009, Zoë Mode released the puzzle gameChime, produced by the non-profit OneBigGame.[15][16] In 2011, the studio signed the deal to developZumba Fitness 2.[17] In June 2013, Zoë Mode signed the deal to developRock Revolution.[18]
Zoë Mode have worked on theEyeToy series,Zumba dance franchise andPowerstar Golf. They also developed games for Xbox'sKinect.
Headstrong launched today as the rebranded London studio of the Kuju Entertainment network.
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