Rebellion (Derby) Ltd

Moby ID: 103

AKA +

Core Design Ltd. (from 1988-10-24 to 2006-06-16)
Megabrite Ltd. (from 1988-05-13 to 1988-10-24)

Overview edit · view history

Core Design was a British video game development studio based in the city of Derby. It was founded in 1988 by Jeremy Heath-Smith and several former employees of Gremlin Graphics.

At the end of 1994, Core was acquired by the CentreGold group, comprising the publisher U.S. Gold and distributor Centresoft. CentreGold agreed however, that Core should be left alone to operate autonomously. The studio was acquired by Eidos in 1996.

The studio's first game was Rick Dangerous (1989). Core Design was most known for developing the Tomb Raider games until Eidos moved the development of further installments to Crystal Dynamics in 2003. Most key members of Core left the studio shortly thereafter. While Core Design developed its own version of Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the Crystal Dynamics version was published instead.

On 11 May 2006, it was announced that Core's assets and staff were sold to independent development group Rebellion, but Eidos would retain the rights to the name and games - hence, the studio was renamed to Rebellion Derby.

On 17 March 2010, the studio was closed.

Credited on 77 Games from 1989 to 2024

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Tomb Raider I•II•III: Remastered (2024 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Call of Duty: World at War - Final Fronts (2008 on PlayStation 2)
Free Running (2007 on Windows, PlayStation 2, PSP...)
Smart Bomb (2005 on PSP)
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Angel of Darkness (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Macintosh)
Herdy Gerdy (2002 on PlayStation 2)
Project Eden (2001 on Windows, PlayStation 2)
Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix (2001 on PlayStation 2)
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - Curse of the Sword (2001 on Game Boy Color)
Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000 on Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast...)
Tomb Raider Starring Lara Croft (2000 on Game Boy Color)
Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact (2000 on Windows)
Tomb Raider III: Adventures in India (2000 on Windows)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999 on Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast...)
Tomb Raider II: Gold (1999 on Windows, iPhone, iPad...)
Fighting Force 2 (1999 on PlayStation, Dreamcast, PS Vita)
The Times Exclusive Tomb Raider Level (1999 on Windows)
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998 on Windows, PlayStation, PSP...)
Tomb Raider: Gold (1998 on DOS, Macintosh, iPhone...)
Ninja: Shadow of Darkness (1998 on PlayStation)

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History +

March 17, 2010: Rebellion confirms to have closed the studio.
June 2006: The company is acquired by Rebellion, but Eidos retains the name and IPs.
July 15, 2003: Core Design founder Jeremy Heath-Smith steps down from the boards of Core and Eidos. He is the appointed scapegoat for the disappointing sales of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness title.
April 1996: Eidos Interactive acquires CentreGold plc, which includes U.S. Gold, Core Design and Centresoft.
1994: CentreGold plc acquires Core Design.