Blue Byte
 | |
Formerly called |
|
|---|---|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Video game industry |
| Founded | February 1988 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Düsseldorf, Germany |
Key people | Benedikt Grindel (managing director) |
| Products | |
| Parent | Ubisoft |
| Divisions | Blue Byte Mainz |
| Website |
bluebyte |
Blue Byte GmbH (formerly Blue Byte Software GmbH and later Blue Byte Software GmbH & Co. KG) is a video game developer and publisher based in Düsseldorf, Germany, founded in 1988. The company has produced popular titles like Battle Isle and The Settlers. In 2001, the company was purchased by Ubisoft.
History
Blue Byte Software was founded by Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt in Mülheim in February 1988. The first published game was the tennis simulation Great Courts, released in 1989 by Ubi Soft. Blue Byte's first big success in Germany and Europe was the turn-based strategy game Battle Isle, completed in 1991. Inspired by the Japanese game Nectaris for the PC Engine, Battle Isle spawned numerous add-ons and sequels. The company's next big success followed in 1993 with the release of the managerial game Die Siedler, marketed internationally as The Settlers. The Settlers also had numerous sequels and became the most well-known of Blue Byte's products.
Over the years, Blue Byte developed and/or published numerous innovative titles including Chewy: Escape from F5 and Albion, but most of them were not successful internationally. Efforts to break into the American market, usually aided with publishing by Accolade, failed and success was limited to Germany and parts of Europe. In 1995 a Chicago-based entrepreneur named Julian Pretto traveled to Germany and convinced the founders to open a North American office. Following the successful release of Battle Isle 2020 in the United States, Pretto left the firm to pursue other interests. Three years later, Blue Byte moved from Chicago, Illinois, to its new facilities in Austin, Texas.
The popular turn-based strategy Battle Isle series from the early 1990s achieved cult status similar to Settlers but when revised in 1997 as a 3-D tactical game Incubation similar to UFO: Enemy Unknown and later in 2001 Battle Isle: The Andosia War, which tried to breach the gap between turn-based strategies and real-time strategies, it alienated many players who came to expect that the Battle Isle brand would represent traditional turn-based strategies.
In January 2001, Blue Byte was acquired by Ubi Soft, and tasked to focus on Blue Byte's two most popular series.[1]
Games developed and/or published
- Great Courts (1989) — Sports
- Twinworld (1989) — Platform
- Great Courts 2 (1990) — Sports
- Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour (1990) — Sports
- Tom and The Ghost (1990) — Action
- Atomino (1991) — Puzzle
- Battle Isle (1991) — Strategy
- ApidyaI (1992)
- Battle Isle Data Disk I (1992) — Strategy
- Ugh! (1992) — Puzzle
- Battle Isle Data Disk II (1993) — Strategy
- History Line: 1914-1918 (1993) — Strategy
- Yo! Joe! Beat the Ghosts (1993) — Platform (developed by Scipio)
- The Settlers (1993) — Strategy
- Battle Isle II (1994) — Strategy
- Battle Isle II Data Disk I (1994) — Strategy
- Battle Isle III (1995) — Strategy
- Albion (1995) — Role-playing video game
- Archimedean Dynasty (1996) — Submarine shooter
- Chewy: ESC from F5 (1996) — Adventure (developed by New Generation Software)
- The Settlers II (1996) — Strategy
- Dr. Drago's Madcap Chase (1997) — Strategy
- Extreme Assault (1997) — Action
- Incubation (1997) — Strategy
- Game, Net & Match! (1998) — Sport
- The Settlers III (1998) — Strategy
- Star Trek: Starship Creator (1999)
- Stephen King's F13 (2000) — Simulation
- The Settlers IV (2001) — Strategy
- Battle Isle: The Andosia War (2001) — Strategy
- The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (2005) — Strategy
- The Settlers II 10th Anniversary (2006) — Strategy
- The Settlers: Rise of an Empire (2007) — Strategy
- The Settlers: Rise of Cultures (2008) — Strategy
- Anno 1404 (2009) — (developed with Related Designs)
- Anno 1404: Venice (2010) — (developed with Related Designs)
- The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (2010)
- The Settlers – My City (2010)
- The Settlers Online (2010)
- Anno 2070 (2011) — (developed with Related Designs)
- Anno Online (2013) — (developed with Related Designs)
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 (2013)
- Silent Hunter Online (2013)
- Panzer General Online (2013)
- Might & Magic: Heroes Online (2014) — (developed with Blue Byte Mainz)
- Anno 2205 (2015) — (developed with Blue Byte Mainz)
- Assassin's Creed Identity (2016)
- Champions of Anteria (2016)
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (2016)
- For Honor (2017)
References
- ↑ Ho, Jennifer (8 February 2001). "Ubi Soft acquires Blue Byte Software". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 January 2010.