Avalanche Software was founded by fourprogrammers formerly ofSculptured Software, including John Blackburn.[1][2] After Sculptured Software had been acquired byAcclaim Entertainment, the four had been in contact with another former Sculptured Software staffer who left the year prior forSaffire. The four were interested in joining Saffire, which was seeking programmers for an upcoming project, but did not want to commute to the company's offices inPleasant Grove. Instead, Saffire's owner convinced them to start their own company.[3] Subsequently, Blackburn and his acquaintances established Avalanche in October 1995, with Blackburn becoming the company'spresident.[1]
On April 19, 2005,Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), thevideo game publishing arm ofThe Walt Disney Company, announced that it had acquired Avalanche for an undisclosed price.[4] Buena Vista Games established a sister studio to Avalanche,Fall Line Studio, in November 2006.[5] The studio was merged into Avalanche in January 2009.[6] In January 2013, Avalanche unveiled thetoys-to-life cross-platform gameDisney Infinity.[7] On May 10, 2016, due to a lack of growth in the toys-to-life market and increasing development costs, Disney discontinuedDisney Infinity and closed down Disney Interactive Studios, including Avalanche.[8] Many former Avalanche workers were hired bycastAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.[9]
On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Games) announced that it had acquired and re-opened the studio, with Blackburn returning as itschief executive officer. The studio's first title under the new ownership wasCars 3: Driven to Win.[10]
In February 2021, game director Troy Leavitt received backlash for his social media posts that supportedcultural appropriation andGamergate. This led to his resignation from Avalanche Software and theHogwarts Legacy project. He claimed that his exit was not a result of the criticism, and Warner Bros. chose not to address the situation.[11][12][13]
Hogwarts Legacy was released in 2023 as Avalanche's first[clarification needed] independent game since it was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. The open-world action role-playing game was published by the publisherPortkey Games, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Games. The game was officially announced as part of thePlayStation 5 Showcase on September 16, 2020 and was subsequently named "Star of the Evening" by the daily newspaper Die Welt.[14][15] It has been released forPlayStation 5,Xbox Series X/S,Windows,PlayStation 4,Xbox One, andNintendo Switch.[16]
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