On December 1, 2016, Majesco Entertainment was acquired by PolarityTE, Inc., abiotech company, in another reverse merger takeover, because of which it formally ceased all video game operations on December 8, 2016. In mid-2017,chief executive officer Jesse Sutton re-acquired the company through amanagement buyout and continued operating it privately held. On January 15, 2018, Liquid Media Group announced the acquisition of Majesco.[3]
Majesco was first known as a reissuer of old titles that had been abandoned by their original publisher. By cutting the prices and eventually arranging the rights to self-manufacture games for bothNintendo andSega systems, the company found a sustainable market niche.[citation needed]
Later, Majesco arranged with Sega to manufacture a version of itsGenesis (known as Mega Drive outsideNorth America) 16-bit console, which had been superseded by the 32-bitSaturn. It released this in 1998 as the Genesis 3 and followed up with a version of the handheldGame Gear called the Game Gear Core System. In 1998, it signed a deal withHasbro Interactive to publish their titles for the 8-bit handheld and 16-bit console formats, notably theGame Boy Color.[4]
The company's focus shifted to in-house game development, initially under the brand Pipe-Dream Interactive since few believed they could make the transition successfully. It was originally by two lead producers who were employees ofMorning Star Multimedia, Dan Kitchen and Kevin Mitchell.[5] Majesco had a licensing agreement with publisherRed Storm Entertainment to bringTom Clancy's Rainbow Six to theSega Dreamcast platform in 1999.[6] Pipe Dream Interactive, a Majesco subsidiary would eventually produce their titles for Hasbro Interactive on the Game Boy Color and the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, most notablyQ*Bert.[7][8] In 2000, Majesco had a licensing agreement withActivision to publish ports of their classic titles for various platforms, most notably thePlayStation 2 and theGame Boy Advance.[9][10][11] The following year, Majesco signed an agreement withTHQ to bring its vast catalog for the Game Boy Advance for the European market,[12] and the following year, had an agreement withCodemasters to publish two titles for PlayStation 2.[13]
Majesco focused on developing for console systems, such asGameCube, Game Boy Advance,Xbox, and PlayStation 2. A few of the titles it released, involving popular characters, included a fewBomberman titles for the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Majesco also publishedcomputer games withTerminal Reality as the developer, such asBloodRayne andBloodRayne 2.
In 2003, Majesco was slated to publishBlack 9, but producers forced the developers, Taldren, Inc., to shut down when the game was about 85% complete.[14][15]The publisher had reached financial trouble with its larger-budget games, such asPsychonauts, which sold poorly although receiving several awards and critical acclaim, andAdvent Rising, which generated intense hype but was ultimately panned by critics for being released prematurely and without adequate bug testing. Around this time, the company's best-selling titles in the last few years was the series ofGBA Videos for the Game Boy Advance. It also published the gameJaws Unleashed.
On January 19, 2006, the company's financial situation worsened to the degree that it had to cancel two games it was going to publish:Demonik, developed by Terminal Reality, andTaxi Driver, a sequel to the1976 film of the same name. Majesco's president, Jesse Sutton, said that in the future the company would "focus primarily on publishing value and handheld video games."[16] Since that announcement, the company has followed through with publishing successful budget titles in North America likeCooking Mama for theNintendo DS.
On September 14, 2006, Majesco releasedAdvent Rising and re-releasedBloodRayne andBloodRayne 2 onSteam. On November 6, 2007, Majesco announced the opening of a new development facility in the Los Angeles area dedicated to the development of casual game products and properties.[17] On December 10, 2007, Majesco announced that they would be publishing a rhythm-based game,Major Minor's Majestic March, exclusively for theWii developed byNanaOn-Sha. Majesco has announced that it will be launching aninternet version ofBananagrams on August 18, 2008, that will be available onFacebook, asocial networking website.[18] On November 4, 2009, Majesco releasedBloodRayne andBloodRayne 2 onGOG.com. On June 6, 2011, Majesco announced that it was acquiring the assets of social game developer Quick Hit andQuick Hit Football to build out its social gaming strategy.[19]
After a disastrous fiscal year of 2013, the company was expected to enjoy a recovering growth in 2014.[20] It has an online casino gambling subsidiary GMS Entertainment.[21] However, this proved incorrect, as they continued to lose large amounts of money in 2014, resulting in the closure of Midnight City and the cancellation of the console port ofGone Home.[22]
On August 12, 2015, Majesco announced that they had appointed a new CEO, and that only five employees would remain in the company. The company's focus also shifted to develop mobile and downloadable titles. Two new titles,Glue and a new installment in theA Boy and His Blob franchise, were announced after the reconstruction.[23]
On December 9, 2016, Majesco announced it was ceasing operations in the entertainment industry, and merged with biotech firm PolarityTE. Polarity will obtain Majesco's NASDAQ symbol name, COOL.[24][25] On June 29, 2017, PolarityTE divested itself entirely of and subsequently sold, Majesco Entertainment's assets, which were subsequently taken private, leading to the rebirth of the company as an independent corporation.[26]
On November 9, 2017, Majesco announced that it had re-entered the video game business after having previously been brought back to a privately held company, releasing theirRomans from Mars onto Steam.[27] On January 15, 2018, 51 percent of Majesco was bought by Liquid Media Group, and Jesse Sutton became LMG's Gaming Advisor.[3] The company announcedCoba: Tale of the Moon for theNintendo Switch on December 7, 2018.[28]
On June 15, 2020, Ziggurat Interactive purchased a number of IP formerly owned by Majesco Entertainment, including the rights toBloodRayne,Advent Rising,Flip's Twisted World, andRaze's Hell. On the same day, Ziggurat announced that thePC release ofBloodRayne would receive updates to improve compatibility with current-day systems, with updates done by original developer Terminal Reality. They also announced plans to continue the franchise.[29]
In 2021, Majesco announcedMonster Tale for the Nintendo Switch with an expected release later that year.[30] As of February 2025, the game has still not been released.
Liquid Media Group no longer lists Majesco Entertainment among its subsidiaries, though no announcement of a divestment has been made.[31] Jesse Sutton still lists himself as a member of the board, though he is no longer employed by Liquid Media Group and is actively involved in two other companies.[32]
Majesco was accused by former employees of Taldren, Inc. of forcing the company to shut down in an attempt to gain ownership of theBlack9 IP. They alleged the company delayed payment of milestones and used "programmer assistance" to try and gain control of the source code.[33]
To promote the release ofAdvent Rising, a million dollars was offered in a contest via Xbox Live for the first player to find a set of hidden symbols spread throughout the levels of the game. On August 15, 2005, the contest was cancelled, due to concerns that there was "no technically feasible solution that would allow the contest to continue in a fair and secure manner". Majesco offered, as compensation to those players, the choice of two free games (BloodRayne 2,Guilty Gear X2 #Reload,Psychonauts,Raze's Hell, and/orPhantom Dust) and an apology on its home page.[34]
A class action lawsuit was brought against the company by shareholders in 2005, they alleged the company had sent product to retailers knowing it would be returned in an attempt to boost revenue projections and raise the stock price.[35] In 2006, a second lawsuit was filed by Trinad Capital Master Fund who accused the company of mismanagement.[36] The lawsuit was settled in 2007.[37]
In 2011, Majesco was among a list of defendants who were sued over alleged patent violations relating to the use of motion controls in video games for theNintendo Wii.[38] In 2018, the Federal Circuit court ruled in favour of Majesco and other defendants in the case.[39]
Midnight City: On August 29, 2013, Majesco announced the creation of an indie publishing label, Midnight City, in order to bring variousindie games to consoles.[41]
^Staff, IGN (July 28, 1999),Majesco Launches Pipe Dream - IGN, Updated: 21 Jun 2012 5:23 pm, Posted: 28 Jul 1999 12:00 am,archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrievedNovember 17, 2021
^Staff, IGN (June 2, 1999),Rainbow Six Headed to Dreamcast - IGN, Updated: 21 Jun 2012 6:47 pm, Posted: 2 Jun 1999 12:00 am,archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrievedNovember 17, 2021
^Harris, Craig (September 29, 2000),Q*Bert - IGN, Updated: 13 Dec 2018 3:27 am, Posted: 29 Sep 2000 12:00 am,archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrievedNovember 17, 2021
^Staff, IGN (December 19, 2000),Q*bert - IGN, Updated: 13 Dec 2018 3:41 am, Posted: 19 Dec 2000 12:30 am,archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrievedNovember 17, 2021
^Staff, IGN (March 22, 2001),Hands-on with Majesco's GBA Line-Up - IGN, Updated: 21 Jun 2012 9:38 am, Posted: 22 Mar 2001 12:30 am,archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrievedNovember 17, 2021
