Argonaut Games PLC
Overview
Founded by
Jez San, Argonaut Games Plc was one of the largest independent games developers in the world with a 17 year history of producing groundbreaking games.
The company was based in Edgware, north London, UK, and at its peak boasted over 300 employees. Argonaut created numerous hit games, most-notably
Croc: The Legend of the Gobbos,
Alien: Resurrection and the first
Harry Potter on PlayStation for EA.
Additionally, Argonaut developed the Super FX chip (used in the original SNES
Star Fox title) for Nintendo, which ultimately became the foundations for a spin-off sister company, ARC (
Argonaut RISC Cores).
Argonaut worked with a wide-range of publishers including Sega, Nintendo, Virgin, Koei, Mitsui, 20th Century Fox, Electronic Arts, Sierra and Ubisoft.
In 2000 the Argonaut board decided to float the company on the London AIM (Alternative Investments Market) stock-exchange, raising over £20m in working capital. A series of acquisitions followed, adding several small studios to the group, including
Just Add Monsters (now Ninja Theory, developers of Heavenly Sword for PS3) and
Particle Systems. However, the group struggled with both its new overheads and the fresh challenges in the transition from PlayStation to PS2 and Xbox.
The company also had an office in Woodside, California,
Argonaut USA.
By 2004, after various setbacks, Argonaut's cash reserves were severely depleted, leading to the eventual closure of all of its studios, and the loss of several hundred jobs.
Aside from Ninja Theory, London-based developer
Rocksteady (developer of 2006's Urban Chaos: Riot Response for Eidos) rose from Argonaut's ashes, while another acquisition, mobile developer
Morpheme, continues to prosper.
Jez San went on to found online 3D poker company PKR.com.
Also Known As
- Argonaut Software Ltd. (from 1980 to 2000)
Trivia
Company location and contact information (1998)
Argonaut House
369 Burnt Oak Broadway
Edgware
Middlesex
HA8 5XZ
United Kingdom
Argonaut Software Limited
Tel: 0181 951 6000
Fax: 0181 951 6050
Website: www.argonaut.com
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