# Avalanche Software

Avalanche Software is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in October 1995 by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn, who is chief executive officer. The studio was acquired by the games arm of The Walt Disney Company in May 2005, and spent the next ten years developing Disney-related titles, including the toys-to-life game Disney Infinity (2013). In May 2016, due to a declining toys-to-life games market, Disney decided to close the games arm, including Avalanche. Warner Bros. Games acquired the studio and re-opened it in January 2017.

## History

Avalanche Software was founded by four programmers formerly of Sculptured Software, including John Blackburn. After Sculptured Software had been acquired by Acclaim Entertainment, the four had been in contact with another former Sculptured Software staffer who left the year prior for Saffire. The four were interested in joining Saffire, which was seeking programmers for an upcoming project, but did not want to commute to the company's offices in Pleasant Grove. Instead, Saffire's owner convinced them to start their own company. Subsequently, Blackburn and his acquaintances established Avalanche in October 1995, with Blackburn becoming the company's president.
On April 19, 2005, Buena Vista Games (later renamed Disney Interactive Studios), the video game publishing arm of The Walt Disney Company, announced that it had acquired Avalanche for an undisclosed price. Buena Vista Games established a sister studio to Avalanche, Fall Line Studio, in November 2006. The studio was merged into Avalanche in January 2009. In January 2013, Avalanche unveiled the toys-to-life cross-platform game Disney Infinity. On May 10, 2016, due to a lack of growth in the toys-to-life market and increasing development costs, Disney discontinued Disney Infinity and closed down Disney Interactive Studios, including Avalanche. Many former Avalanche workers were hired by castAR to create a new studio in Salt Lake City.
On January 24, 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Games) announced that it had acquired and re-opened the studio, with Blackburn returning as its chief executive officer. The studio's first title under the new ownership was Cars 3: Driven to Win.
In February 2021, game director Troy Leavitt received backlash for his social media posts that supported cultural appropriation and Gamergate. This led to his resignation from Avalanche Software and the Hogwarts Legacy project. He claimed that his exit was not a result of the criticism, and Warner Bros. chose not to address the situation.
Hogwarts Legacy was released in 2023 as Avalanche's first independent game since it was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. The open-world action role-playing game was published by the publisher Portkey Games, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Games. The game was officially announced as part of the PlayStation 5 Showcase on September 16, 2020 and was subsequently named "Star of the Evening" by the daily newspaper Die Welt. It has been released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

## Games developed

| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
| 1996 | Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 | Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| 1996 | Mortal Kombat Trilogy | PlayStation |
| 1996 | 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge | PlayStation |
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero | Nintendo 64 |
| 1998 | Off Road Challenge | Nintendo 64 |
| 1999 | Rampage 2: Universal Tour | PlayStation, Nintendo 64 |
| 1999 | NFL Blitz 2000 | Dreamcast |
| 1999 | NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC | Dreamcast |
| 2000 | Rampage Through Time | PlayStation |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | PlayStation, Nintendo 64 |
| 2000 | NFL Blitz 2001 | Dreamcast |
| 2000 | Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights | Dreamcast |
| 2001 | NCAA College Football 2K2: Road to the Rose Bowl | Dreamcast |
| 2002 | NCAA College Football 2K3 | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2002 | Rugrats: Royal Ransom | GameCube, PlayStation 2 |
| 2003 | Tak and the Power of Juju | GameCube, PlayStation 2 |
| 2004 | Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2005 | Tak: The Great Juju Challenge | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2005 | Dragon Ball Z: Sagas | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| 2005 | Chicken Little | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
| 2006 | 25 to Life | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
| 2006 | Chicken Little: Ace in Action | PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2007 | Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour | PlayStation 2, Wii |
| 2008 | Bolt | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2011 | Cars 2 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows |
| 2013 | Disney Infinity | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| 2014 | Disney Infinity 2.0 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation Vita |
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Apple TV |
| 2017 | Cars 3: Driven to Win | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo Switch |
| 2023 | Hogwarts Legacy | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows |