Videogame Ventures

Oct. 9, 2015

A Look Inside Michigan’s Gaming Industry

While California’s Silicon Valley is still the hub for most videogame developers, including Activision, Sega, Eidos Interactive, Capcom and Blizzard, other regions of the U.S. are beginning to develop games, too — from Oregon to New Jersey to Michigan. We spoke to a quartet of Michigan videogame developers to see what they’ve been working on and what brought them to work in a state so far from the rest of the herd.

COMPANY: FROSTBURN STUDIOS
LOCATION: Kalamazoo, Mich.
SINCE: 2015

Frostburn has an interesting history. Much of the staff had been working together on the company’s trademark game “Heroes of Newerth” for the past few years, originally as part of S2 Games, another video game developer with offices in California and Michigan. After S2 sold the rights to “Heroes,” the game and its team were acquired by Garena Online, a leading Southeast Asian entertainment platform provider, and the development team moved to the newly-established Frostburn Studios, enabling them to stay in Michigan.

“Our acquisition by Garena has provided us with full autonomy at Frostburn, but we still get strategic advice from them when needed,” Studio Director Brad Bower said. “So each side does what they do best.”

“Heroes,” a rich MOBA (multi-player online battle arena) game inspired by the “Warcraft II” mod “DotA” (“Defense of the Ancients”), celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and has a dedicated global fan base; you can download and play the game for free at heroesofnewerth.com.

Frostburn still provides support and content updates for the game, but it’s also focusing on new titles.

“Our goal is to create the most unforgettable gaming experiences,” Bower said. “We want to make the games people are excited to talk about, not only today, but 20 years from now.”

For the future of the company, Bower envisions more of the same. “And there are many benefits to us being located here,” he added. “Michigan is a beautiful state with no shortage of activities to do outside and, if you’re looking to get in your big city fix, we are just a two-hour drive from Chicago. There really is no place better to be able to put down your roots while being able to do the work you love.”

COMPANY: PIXO GROUP
LOCATION: Southfield, Mich.
SINCE: 2009

Pixo Group’s decision to build their company in Detroit was spurred by the film and media incentive once offered by the Michigan Film Office. While the incentive is no longer available, the company fortunately made the right moves and grew quickly, so Southfield is where they plan to stay.

“We started as more of a console game developer, but right as we were beginning, the first iPad came out (in early 2010), so we quickly shifted over to mobile gaming,” explained Pixo Group CEO Sean Hurwitz.

Since then, the company has developed full-length games like “Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance” for iPhone/iPad and Android and “Goji Play,” an iPad app that lets you incorporate exercise equipment to bring gaming into your workouts.

Lately, their focus has become client-specific, developing games to promote specific brands, products and events.

“The ‘5210Kids!’ app is something we built with Henry Ford LiveWell; that one’s sold through the iTunes App Store to help kids get more exercise and teach them healthy habits,” Hurwitz said. “So, through the game, we’re actually also educating.”

Other game/company collaborations have included working with Chevy on the virtual reality “Virtual Umpire” game featured at a playable kiosk at the MLB Baseball All-Star Game and the “Deep Sea Challenge (Oculus Rift)” and “Sea Perch” games for the U.S. Navy.

“We also have a series of games for brains that are educational, also for iPad,” Hurwitz said.

COMPANY: REACTOR ZERO
LOCATION: Saline, Mich.
SINCE: 2005

Reactor Zero was founded by Mitch Rohde, Matt Toschlog (previously of Parallax Software, makers of “Descent”) and Jeff Slutter, each of whom had experience developing videogames for companies like Sony. They’ve also brought in development specialists with experience on games like “The Sims” series. They’ve done work on both traditional video games (“Red Faction: Guerilla”) and more focused training/engineering games, and through their partnership with Quantum Signal, an Ann Arbor company, they’ve worked on simulation games for clients like the U.S. Army, the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of State.

So why Michigan? Rohde is a hometown guy.

“I was born in Detroit, went to school in Ann Arbor and founded the company right after leaving school,” he said. “I didn’t consider going elsewhere, as I believe in Michigan and the strong work ethic and positive attitude of those in the Midwest.”

Now, games like “Rustbucket Rumble” (PC — available on steampowered.com) are introducing the company to an even wider audience, which is great news for Rohde, who said the company’s greatest strength is its development team.

“These folks are creative, technically proficient and 100 percent committed to building state-of-the-art products for our customers,” he said. “I’m proud to work with them every day.”

COMPANY: STARDOCK
LOCATION: Plymouth, Mich.
SINCE: 1991

Michigan was an easy choice for Stardock President/CEO Brad Wardell. He grew up in the state, attended Western Michigan University and started the company from his dorm room. Oct. 13 marked 22 years in business.

It all started when Wardell sold some videogames he had created to the makers of OS/2, a series of computer operating systems developed by IBM and Microsoft.

“The initial goal was always to create games,” explained Stardock’s General Manager Kristin Hatcher. “The company continued to make software and games for OS/2 until that market collapsed around 2001.”

Stardock switched to desktop customization for a bit, until they refocused on gaming.

“Now, we have some really exciting things in the works!” Hatcher said. After trying out mobile gaming development (their one hit was a game called “Dead Man’s Draw,” available in the iTunes app store), the company settled on PC gaming and have enjoyed great success with two games in particular: “Galactic Civilizations III” and “Sorcerer King” (both on steampowered.com).

‘“GCIII’ is very popular,” Hatcher said. “You play as human or as one of several space-faring alien races and you attempt to colonize more of the galaxy than your opponents. It’s actually my favorite game we make.”

A similarly futuristic game is next on Stardock’s schedule; it’s called “Ashes of the Singularity.”

“That one will come out early next year,” Hatcher confirmed. “It’s a real-time strategy game set in a future.”

This game will be a landmark one for Stardock, as it’s being created with a revolutionary new game engine called Nitrous (made by their development partner Oxide) that allows for major improvements in game performance and visual fidelity.

So are they taking these forward-thinking games out of state any time soon?

“We love Michigan!” Hatcher said. “If we were to move, we’d lose some of our crew and that just isn’t something we’re willing to consider. After 22 years here, I think it’s safe to say we’re here to stay.”