Company:Offset Software

From HandWiki
Offset Software
IndustryVideo games
Founded2004
Defunct2010
HeadquartersNewport Beach, California
Key people
  • Sam McGrath
  • (Founder)
  • Travis Stringer
  • (Co-founder)
  • Trevor Stringer
  • (Co-founder)
  • Rod Green
  • (Director)
ProductsProject Offset (canceled)
Number of employees
50
WebsiteProjectOffset.com

Offset Software was a video game development company based in Newport Beach, California. It was founded by Sam McGrath, Travis Stringer, Trevor Stringer and Rod Green; except for Green, they had worked for S2 Games developing Savage,[1] which won the grand prize at the Independent Games Festival in 2004.[2]

The company had one game under development, a first-person shooter with the working title "Project Offset". (Some official preview videos have shown third-person views for close-quarters combat.) The game featured a detailed high fantasy world. It was showcased on Attack of the Show! in 2005.[3]

In February 2008, Intel acquired Offset Software,[4] having purchased the Havok engine in 2007.[5]

Intel canceled the game in mid-2010, citing "recent changes in our product roadmap" (possibly meaning the failure of Larrabee as a consumer product).[6] The founders of Offset Software have moved to a new game development studio named Fractiv LLC.[7]

The Offset Engine was licensed by Red 5 Studios in 2006 to create their MMOFPS game Firefall.[8] Intel shutting down the Offset team did not mean Red 5 could no longer use the engine. The game used a heavily modified engine originally based on the Offset Engine.[9]

References

  1. Peplinski, Jon (September 3, 2005). "Project Offset Article". SFFWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090218155919/http://sffworld.com/mul/124p0.html. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
  2. "The 12th Annual Independent Games Festival - 2004 Finalists & Winners". Independent Games Festival. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100210085907/http://www.igf.com/2004finalistswinners.html. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
  3. "Project Offset, The Lush, Chris Gore". Attack of the Show!. October 25, 2005. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120531064155/http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/episodes/4643/Project_Offset_The_Lush_Chris_Gore.html. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
  4. "Intel Acquires Offset Software, Project Offset Engine". Gamasutra. February 25, 2008. Archived from the original on May 10, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100510092434/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17599. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
  5. Hruska, Joel (February 25, 2008). "Why Intel bought Project Offset and the Offset Engine". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091208162406/http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2008/02/why-intel-bought-project-offset-and-the-offset-engine.ars. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
  6. Callaham, John (July 1, 2010). "Project Offset officially shut down at Intel; founders launch Fractiv LLC". Big Download. http://news.bigdownload.com/2010/07/01/project-offset-officially-shut-down-at-intel-founders-launches/. 
  7. "Home". http://www.fractiv.com/. 
  8. Firefall Live - Special Tiki Edition on YouTube
  9. http://news.bigdownload.com/2010/07/07/offset-engine-still-being-used-by-red-5-studios/

External links