2015 (company)

2015, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Founded	1997
Founder	Tom Kudirka
Headquarters	Tulsa , United States
Key people	Tom Kudirka
Products	Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, SiN: Wages of Sin, Men of Valor, Laser Arena, CIA Operative: Solo Missions, Time Ace

2015, Inc. was a video game development company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recognized primarily for creating Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The company has since ceased operations.

History

Established in 1997 by Tom Kudirka, 2015, Inc. originated from a group of developers involved in the first-person shooter modding community. After months of remote collaboration via ICQ, they produced a demo mod based on the Quake to demonstrate their capabilities. Kudirka submitted this demo to Activision, which led to securing a contract to develop an expansion for the upcoming title SiN, originally created by Ritual Entertainment.

To commence work on the SiN: Wages of Sin expansion, Kudirka moved his team to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The seven members, who had previously worked remotely for over half a year, met face-to-face for the first time. Three of them shared a residence rented by Kudirka, where the living area doubled as their development workspace. The primary team consisted of Tom Kudirka, Ken Turner, Zied Reike, Carl Glave, Benson Russel, Paul Jury, and Michael Boon, whom Kudirka recruited from Tasmania, Australia.

SiN: Wages of Sin

The official expansion pack for Ritual Entertainment’s SiN, titled Wages of Sin, was released for Windows in February 1999 under the publishing of Activision.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Inspired by the success of the film Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg aimed to develop a World War II-themed video game that would continue the legacy of the Medal of Honor franchise, originally created by DreamWorks Interactive—a collaboration between DreamWorks and Microsoft. Although DreamWorks Interactive initially found success, their 1998 release Trespasser failed commercially, prompting Spielberg to reconsider his partnership with the studio. Subsequently, DreamWorks Interactive was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2000.

Spielberg maintained his dedication to the series and approached id Software for development assistance; however, due to their full workload, id Software recommended 2015, Inc. Contact with 2015 began in May 2000, leading to the start of work on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Producer Richard Kudirka expanded the team by bringing in developers such as Nathan Silvers, Paul Messerly, Keith Bell, Mackey McCandlish, Chance Glasco, Jason West, and Radomir Kucharski, who relocated from Katowice, Poland.

The game was published by Electronic Arts and launched on Windows on January 22, 2002 in North America and February 15, 2002 in Europe. It achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success and is widely regarded as a pioneer in cinematic first-person shooters while significantly enhancing EA’s Medal of Honor franchise.

Following this success, Electronic Arts terminated its contract with 2015, Inc. Subsequently, Activision hired prominent members from 2015—including Vince Zampella, Jason West, and Grant Collier—to establish Infinity Ward. Under Activision’s banner, Infinity Ward developed Call of Duty, directly competing with EA’s series. Meanwhile, remaining staff at 2015 continued producing games such as Men of Valor through their Trainwreck Studios division.

Men of Valor

In 2002, 2015 initiated the creation of its original intellectual property, Men of Valor, a first-person shooter portraying infantry combat during the Vietnam War. The narrative centers on Dean Shepard and his Marine unit as they undertake 13 missions, including significant engagements such as the Tet Offensive. Players assume various roles, including operating a Huey helicopter door gun, steering riverboats, exploring enemy tunnels, and coordinating artillery strikes. The missions encompass pilot rescues, reconnaissance patrols, POW extractions, and search-and-destroy assignments.

Published by Vivendi Universal, Men of Valor was released for the Xbox in North America on October 19, 2004, followed by a European launch on November 5, 2004. The Windows edition became available on October 29, 2004, in North America and November 12, 2004, across Europe.

On April 14, 2015, Nordic Games obtained the rights to the Men of Valor intellectual property from 2015 through an asset acquisition agreement.

Trainwreck Studios

Established by Kudirka in late 1999 as a subsidiary development branch of 2015, Trainwreck Studios concentrated on producing mid-range to budget-friendly games. This division developed titles such as Laser Arena (2000), CIA Operative: Solo Missions (2001), and Time Ace (2007) for the Nintendo DS platform.

Tornado Studios

Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tornado Studios was founded by Kudirka and staffed with seasoned designers formerly affiliated with companies including Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts.

Project Runway

The inaugural release from Tornado Studios was Project Runway, which Atari published for the Wii in March 2010. More recently, the studio has transitioned towards delivering photorealistic 3D modeling services for video games, films, presentations, and architectural visualization projects, capitalizing on their proficiency as skilled 3D artists.

Games developed

Year	Title	Publisher	Genre	Platform(s)
				Windows	Mac OS	Xbox	Nintendo DS
1999	SiN: Wages of Sin	Activision	First-person shooter	Yes	Yes	No	No
2000	Laser Arena (Trainwreck Studios)	ValuSoft		Yes	No	No	No
2001	CIA Operative: Solo Missions (Trainwreck Studios)			Yes	No	No	No
2002	Medal of Honor: Allied Assault	Electronic Arts		Yes	Yes	No	No
2004	Men of Valor	Vivendi		Yes	No	Yes	No
2007	Time Ace (Trainwreck Studios)	Konami	Combat flight simulator	No	No	No	Yes

Cancelled games

Year cancelled	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher
1999	Half-Life: Hostile Takeover	Template:N/A	Sierra Entertainment