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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Founders | Kai Huang Charles Huang |
| Defunct | February 11, 2010 (2010-2-11) |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | Kai Huang (CEO and Co-Founder), Charles Huang (COO and Co-Founder) Kelly Sumner (Chief Executive Officer) |
| Parent | Activision (2006–2010) |
RedOctane, Inc. was an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing theGuitar Hero series, beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary ofActivision in 2006. In February 2010, Activision closed the RedOctane division.
RedOctane was founded in 1999 by the brothers Kai Huang and Charles Huang. They got their beginnings operating the world's first online video game rental service, called WebGameZone. They soon began to create game accessories such as the Red Octane Ignitiondance mat,joysticks, and other accessories to build upon already-existing musical games. After soon realizing that their game accessories were tied to the launch dates of the games they were producing for, Red Octane began producing games. Their first original game was aPlayStation 2 port ofRoxor Games' arcade rhythm gameIn the Groove.[1]
RedOctane teamed with developerHarmonix Music Systems to releaseGuitar Hero in November 2005 for the PlayStation 2. The game was successful, and RedOctane released a sequel in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 andXbox 360.[2][3]
In May 2006, video game publisherActivision announced plans to acquire RedOctane, completing the deal on June 6, 2006.[4] Activision reportedly paid RedOctane$99.9 million in cash and common stock in the acquisition.[5][6]
After the Activision buy-out and a split from Harmonix, who went on to develop competing gameRock Band, RedOctane utilized Activision ownedNeversoft, the team responsible for theTony Hawk skateboarding video game franchise, to take the helm onGuitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,[7] which became available in November 2007.
Gaming news site Kotaku calledGuitar Hero an "instant cult classic". In its 26 first months after release,Guitar Hero generated over $1B in sales.[8]
RedOctane releasedGuitar Hero World Tour in October 2008.
On February 11, 2010, Activision announced the closure of their RedOctane division.[9]
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