Beam Software

Krome Studios Melbourne
Company type	Private
Industry	Video game development
Predecessor	Beam Software
Founded	1980
Founder	Alfred Milgrom, Naomi Besen
Defunct	15 October 2010
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
Products	Video games
Website	https://web.archive.org/web/20061004000000*/http://www.melbournehouse.com.au

Krome Studios Melbourne, initially known as Beam Software, was an Australian game development company established in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen, headquartered in Melbourne. The studio was originally founded to create software and books for their London-based publishing firm, Melbourne House, which had been founded in 1977. From 1987 until its acquisition in 1999 by Infogrames, the studio operated independently before being renamed Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.. In 2006, the company was sold to Krome Studios.

The title Beam was formed by combining parts of the founders’ surnames: Besen and Milgrom.

Home computer period

During its early years, Beam developed several influential titles within their respective genres. The 1982 text adventure The Hobbit, created by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler, achieved sales exceeding 500,000 copies. It was notable for its sophisticated parser designed by Stuart Richie and incorporated real-time narrative progression. In 1985, Greg Barnett’s two-player martial arts fighting game The Way of the Exploding Fist became a defining title for home computer one-on-one fighters and earned the Best Overall Game award at the Golden Joystick Awards.

In 1987, Melbourne House, Beam’s UK publishing division, was sold to Mastertronic for £850,000. Alfred Milgrom, Beam’s chairman, explained that the transition from 8-bit to 16-bit technology and limited managerial resources prompted the sale. Following this change, Beam released games via multiple publishers: Telecomsoft’s Firebird label published the 1988 fighting games Samurai Warrior and Fist + (the third entry in the Exploding Fist series); GO!, an imprint of U.S. Gold, handled the space-shoot'em-up title Bedlam; and Gremlin Graphics released The Muncher.

Transition to consoles and personal computers

In 1987, Beam obtained a Nintendo developer license for the NES, which led to successful releases aimed at Australian gamers such as Aussie Rules Footy and International Cricket. The studio launched Nightshade in 1992, a darkly comedic superhero adventure designed to initiate a series; this game influenced 1993’s Shadowrun, which introduced an innovative dialogue mechanic involving keyword collection to unlock new conversational paths. Also in 1993, Beam released Baby T-Rex, a platformer for the Game Boy that was adapted for various licensed franchises worldwide, including We're Back! in North America and featuring the puppet character Agro in Australia.

Beam revived the Melbourne House label in 1997,^[1] publishing PC games such as Krush Kill 'n' Destroy (KKND) along with its follow-ups KKND Xtreme and KKND2: Krossfire. Notably, KKND2 debuted first in South Korea before its release in North America and Europe, with unauthorized copies circulating online prior to official U.S. availability. In 1996, Beam developed 32-bit versions of Norse By Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings for platforms including Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and PC. They also worked on Super NES titles such as WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling, Super Smash TV, and an updated version of Super International Cricket. Additionally, Beam ported the Sega Saturn title Bug! to Windows 3.x in August 1996.

In 1998, Beam re-entered the RPG genre with Alien Earth, which utilized a dialogue tree system. That same year saw releases of racing games like DethKarz and GP 500.

In 1999, Beam Software was acquired by Infogrames, resulting in its rebranding as Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.

2000s

The studio strengthened its standing in the racing genre with titles such as Le Mans 24 Hours and Looney Tunes: Space Race for Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, followed by the release of Grand Prix Challenge on PlayStation 2. Subsequently, it ventured into third-person shooter territory with Men in Black II: Alien Escape, available on PlayStation 2 and GameCube.

In 2004, Melbourne House launched Transformers for PlayStation 2, inspired by Hasbro's Transformers Armada series. This game achieved the top spot on the UK PS2 sales charts, becoming the studio’s most commercially successful release in recent years.

The studio also handled the PlayStation 2 and PSP adaptations of Eden’s Xbox 360 game Test Drive: Unlimited.

By December 2005, Atari decided to exit internal game development and began divesting its studios, including Melbourne House. In November 2006, Krome Studios acquired Melbourne House from Atari and rebranded it as Krome Studios Melbourne. The studio was ultimately closed on 15 October 2010 alongside Krome’s Brisbane branch. Beyond game production, Beam Software managed Smarty Pants Publishing Pty Ltd., which specialized in software for children, and developed proprietary technologies such as VideoBeam (video compression) and Famous Faces (facial motion capture hardware/software).

As Beam Software

1982: Strike Force (TRS-80), Hungry Horace, Horace Goes Skiing, Horace and the Spiders, The Hobbit, Penetrator (Commodore 64, Microbee, Timex Sinclair 2068, TRS-80, ZX Spectrum)
1983: H.U.R.G: High-Level User-Friendly Real-Time Games Designer (ZX Spectrum)
1984: Castle of Terror (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), Hampstead, Mugsy, Sherlock, Zim Sala Bim (Commodore 64)
1985: Gyroscope, Lord of the Rings: Game One, Terrormolinos, The Way of the Exploding Fist (various platforms), Starion (Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum)
1986: Asterix and the Magic Cauldron, Fist: The Legend Continues, Judge Dredd, Knuckle Busters, Mugsy's Revenge, Rock'n Wrestle
1987: Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear, Shadows of Mordor, Bop'n Rumble
1988: Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo, The Muncher
1989: 720°, Back to the Future, Bad Street Brawler, Aussie Games, Sgt. Slaughter’s Mat Wars
1990: Back to the Future Part II & III, Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum, Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit, Boulder Dash (Game Boy), NBA All-Star Challenge (Game Boy), The Punisher, Road Blasters, Bigfoot, Battle Chess
1991: Choplifter II (Game Boy), Hunt for Red October (Game Boy, NES), Smash TV (NES), Family Feud (NES), J. R. R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan (MS-DOS), Aussie Rules Footy (NES), Power Punch II (NES), Star Wars (NES)
1992: Aussie Rules Footy (NES), International Cricket (NES), Nightshade (NES), T2: The Arcade Game (Game Boy), NBA All-Star Challenge 2 (Game Boy), Tom and Jerry (Game Boy), Super Smash TV (Super NES), George Foreman's KO Boxing (Game Boy)
1993: Baby T-Rex, We're Back BC, Agro Soar (Game Boy), Blades of Vengeance (Genesis), NFL Quarterback Club (Game Boy), Shadowrun, MechWarrior, Super High Impact, Tom and Jerry - Frantic Antics
1994: Choplifter III, The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness, Radical Rex, Super Smash TV, Solitaire FunPak, Stargate, WCW: The Main Event
1995: True Lies, Super International Cricket, The Dame Was Loaded; PC port of Bug!, Cricket 96; Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams
1996: 5 in One Fun Pak
1997: Caesars Palace (PlayStation), Cricket 97, Krush, Kill 'n' Destroy
1998: Dethkarz, NBA Action 98, KKnD 2: Krossfire
1999: GP 500