Company:Blue Byte
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game industry |
| Founded | October 1988 in Mülheim, Germany |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , Germany |
Number of locations | 2 studios (2014) |
Key people | Benedikt Grindel (managing director) |
| Products |
|
| Parent | Ubisoft (2001–present) |
| Website | bluebyte.com |
Ubisoft Blue Byte GmbH is a German video game developer based in Düsseldorf. Founded in October 1988 by Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt, the company is best known for developing the Anno and The Settlers series. In January 2001, the company was acquired by Ubisoft.
History
In 1988, Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt left Rainbow Arts, a German video game developer, and founded their own, Blue Byte, in October that year.[1] To do so, Hertzler and Schmitt used a starting capital of 10,000 Deutsche Mark borrowed from Hertzler's parents and established an office in the attic of Hertzler's home in Mülheim.[1] 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 Japan ese 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 United States 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 and later in 2001 Battle Isle, 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.[2]
Games developed or published
Battle Isle series
| Title | Year | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Isle | 1991 (Amiga, DOS) | Blue Byte | Blue Byte |
| Battle Isle Data Disk I | 1992 (DOS) | ||
| Battle Isle Data Disk II | 1993 (DOS) | ||
| Battle Isle II | 1994 (DOS) | Accolade | |
| Battle Isle II Data Disk I | 1994 (DOS) | Blue Byte | |
| Battle Isle III | 1995 (Windows) | ||
| Incubation | 1997 (Windows) | ||
| Incubation: The Wilderness Missions | 1997 (Windows) | ||
| Incubation: Hidden Worlds | 1998 (Windows) | ||
| Battle Isle | 2000 (Windows) | Cauldron |
Settlers series
| Title | Year | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Settlers | 1993 (Amiga) 1994 (DOS) |
Blue Byte | Blue Byte |
| The Settlers II | 1996 (DOS) 1997 (MacOS) 2007 (DS) | ||
| The Settlers III | 1998 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers IV | 2001 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers | 2004 (Windows) | Ubisoft | |
| The Settlers II (10th Anniversary) | 2006 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers | 2007 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers: Rise of Cultures | 2008 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers 7 | 2010 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers – My City | 2010 (Windows) | ||
| The Settlers Online | 2010 (Browser) | ||
| The Settlers | 2019 |
Anno series
| Title | Year | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anno 1602: Creation of a New World | 1998 (Windows) | Max Design | Sunflowers Interactive |
| Anno 1503: The New World | 2003 (Windows) | Blue Byte | |
| Anno 1701 | 2006 (Windows) | Related Designs | |
| Anno 1404 | 2009 (Windows) | Ubisoft | |
| Anno 1404 | 2010 (Windows) | ||
| Anno 2070 | 2011 (Windows) | ||
| Anno Online | 2013 (Browser) | Blue Byte | |
| Anno 2205 | 2015 (Windows) | ||
| Anno 1800 | 2018 (Windows) |
Other
| Title | Year | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Courts | 1989 (Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum) 1991 (DOS) 1992 (SNES) 1993 (Atari Lynx) |
Blue Byte | Ubisoft |
| Twinworld | 1989 (Amiga, Atari ST) 1990 (Acorn Archimedes, C64, ZX Spectrum) | ||
| Great Courts 2 | 1991 (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) | Blue Byte | |
| Tom and The Ghost | 1990 (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) | Ubisoft | |
| Atomino | 1990 (DOS) 1991 (Amiga, Atari ST, C64) 1994 (MacOS) 2002 (PalmOS, J2ME) |
Blue Byte | Psygnosis |
| Apidya | 1991 (Amiga) 2002 (Windows) |
Kaiko | Play Byte |
| Ugh! | 1992 (Amiga, C64, DOS) | Egosoft | |
| History Line | 1992 (Amiga, DOS) | Blue Byte | |
| Yo! Joe! Beat the Ghosts | 1993 (Amiga, DOS) | Scipio | |
| Albion | 1995 (DOS) 2015 (Windows) |
Blue Byte | Blue Byte |
| Dr. Drago's Madcap Chase | 1995 (Windows) | ||
| Chewy: ESC from F5 | 1995 (DOS) 1997 (Windows) |
New Generation Software | |
| Archimedean Dynasty | 1996 (DOS) 2015 (Windows) |
Massive Development | |
| Extreme Assault | 1997 | Blue Byte | |
| Game, Net & Match! | 1998 (Windows) | ||
| Star Trek: Starship Creator | 1998 (Windows, MacOS) | ||
| Stephen King's F13 | 2000 (Windows, MacOS) | ||
| Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 | 2012 (Wii U) | Ubisoft | |
| Silent Hunter Online | 2013 (Browser) | ||
| Panzer General Online | 2013 (Browser) | ||
| Might & Magic: Heroes Online | 2014 | ||
| Assassin's Creed Identity | 2014 (iOS) 2016 (Android) | ||
| Champions of Anteria | 2016 (Windows) | ||
| For Honor | 2017 (Windows) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gössling, Jonas (18 August 2013). "Die Geschichte von Blue Byte - Vom Dachgeschoss nach Düsseldorf". https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/die-geschichte-von-blue-byte-vom-dachgeschoss-nach-duesseldorf,3026349.html.
- ↑ Ho, Jennifer (8 February 2001). "Ubi Soft acquires Blue Byte Software". CBS Interactive. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubi-soft-acquires-blue-byte-software/1100-2683947/. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
External links
 |
